What's New March 27, 2014

Infinity Festival ‘set up as a scam’ says PR guy

Last week we told you about accusations that former regional radio employee Dene Broadbelt is a 'conman' following the collapse of a music festival in Darwin (see here).

21-year old Broadbelt (pictured right) worked briefly in radio in Dubbo, Goulburn and Broome.

Now the former publicist for the Inifinity Music Festival has slammed Broadbelt, calling him a 'fraudster', and said that the event was "set up as a scam from the start, and was never going to take place".

Jarrod Meakins (pictured below) was hired as publicist for the festival, and has told Radio Today:

JM: "Dene advertised for a PR person, and I thought that sounded pretty cool, 42 dollars an hour to sit at home and write media releases, social media, backgrounders"

"However I have not been paid not a cent, not one cent. He owes me 411 dollars and I'll never see that".

RT: So with the facebook page, and now the Inifinity website down, it's not looking good for people who bought tickets.

JM: "Dene's a fraudster, the festival was never going to happen. Reflecting on it, the whole thing was a scam, some of the artists being advertised didn't even know they were booked to play, because they weren't!"

All those ticket sales that were made, the best thing those people can do is raise a stink. The more people that speak out the better, and it's not only the money they've lost, it's the principle of the thing that is upsetting people.

RT: So will people get their money back?

JM: "Not a chance, those people will never get their money back. It was set up by Dene as a scam from the start, all the money went through him. The last thing I did was help announce Darwin, and after that I pulled out when I found out what he was up to".

RT: Where is the money now?

JM: "Not a clue, and I have no idea how much was made. And I can't contact Dene, he has deleted me from Facebook, doesn't answer calls. His idea is to get people, burn them, and never pay them. I wish I knew where he was".

Noel Sadler, from Skip Films, who claims Broadbelt owes him money has told the NT News that he has received death threats over his campaign to recover the funds.

Sadler has said that there was a message from a female whose voice he claims to recognise as an associate of Broadbelts on his answering machine saying;

“Watch your fucking back Sadler, fucking watch your house might get fucking set on fire. There might be a bullet coming for ya. You fucking dickhead. So just watch your fucking self. Want to go causing trouble for fucking other people. You had better just fuckng watch yourself."

Calls to Dene Broadbelt (who also goes by the surnames Mussilon/Morgan went unanswered). See our earlier stories on him below:

Broadbelt leaves Goulburn (here)

Broadbelt labelled conman in NT (here)