Sentencing set for Go Cedar Rapids fraud case

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Two executives who defrauded a bank in putting on a failed festival that bankrupted Go Cedar Rapids will be sentenced on February 16th.

Former Go Cedar Rapids CEO Aaron McCreight and financial director Doug Hargrave pleaded guilty to a federal bank fraud charge stemming from the failed NewBo Evolve music festival. McCreight and Hargrave inflated ticket sales reports and falsified financial projections in order to get a $1.75 million dollar loan for the festival.

When the festival flopped, Go Cedar Rapids was more than $2 million in debt. Go Cedar Rapids declared bankruptcy and effectively dissolved, many vendors went unpaid and the city got a black eye in the entertainment industry.

McCreight and Hargrave each face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to a million dollars. Both are now slated to be sentenced on February 16th in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

McCreight was fired shortly after NewBo Evolve. He was later hired and is still the President and CEO of Visit Dothan, the convention and visitors agency for Dothan, Alabama. After his arrest and guilty plea last year, the board for Visit Dothan voiced unanimous continued support for McCreight as its CEO and President.