Jail time for Mariah scammers

The Misappropriation of Mimi has taken two fraudsters to prison.

A judge in Michigan sentenced two men who used singer Mariah Carey’s (photo) name to scam two LGBT organizations: Grand Rapids Pride in Michigan and the Northern Arizona Pride. California residents Allen Dean Clayborn and Raul Pereida persuaded the charities to give them a total of $130,000 by pretending to be Carey’s promoters. They promised to bring the pop diva to perform at charity concerts benefiting at-risk youth between 2015 and 2016.

In what authorities called a “sophisticated” scheme, the defendants created the illusion of being in contact with the Carey camp, and then pocketing the money. On Monday, Federal Judge Paul Maloney sentenced 47-year-old Pereida to 27 months in prison for his role in the scheme. Clayborn, 35, who had already been sentenced on April, 26, will serve 60 months. The duo was charged with wire fraud and identity theft, and ordered to pay back the full $130,000 to the organizations.

The plan involved “detailed contracts consistent with entertainment industry standards, trips to New York City and Las Vegas for charity organizers to hear Mariah Carey perform, complementary tickets that were altered to appear to be gifts from the singer, and bogus email accounts in the name of Carey’s road manager,” according to a press release.

The Elusive Chanteuse wasn’t aware of any of it.

Pereida’s lawyer said his client is remorseful, adding that co-defendant Clayborn received most of the proceeds of the crime, according to Michigan news site MLive.

Before the Carey caper, Clayborn was also suspected of defrauding adult film star Jenna Jameson of $33,000 in a different scheme. Pereida, an undocumented citizen of Mexico, will be deported after he serves his sentence.