If this album was for real, it would've been worth well more than the price of a typical compilation album. However, it wasn't real. Portland musician Kasey Anderson was sentenced to four years in prison for convincing investors that he had assembled a superb set of acts for a charity album, and thus robbed them of more than $600,000.
"I am a deeply flawed and mentally ill person who made some terrible choices, causing so much emotional and financial damage to others," Anderson said in a statement. "I am so sorry for what I've done and want so badly to make it right."
The details of his scheme suggest that his mental illness, whatever it may be, doesn't affect his intelligence. Or at least he was intelligent enough to sway investors. Among the acts whom Anderson promised new music from for the album: Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and more. Anderson also promised a new duet between Springsteen and Lady Gaga. The conman even played previously released tracks from The Boss and Arcade Fire to investors, claiming them to be brand new collaborations.
The moral: Do your own research before dumping money into a record.
Anderson crafted a fairly believable backstory for the album as well. The album was claimed to be a benefit for the West Memphis Three Legal Defense Fund, a popular charity for musicians over the last decade. All of the performers that Anderson convinced investors were appearing also had a long track record of contributing music for social purposes. None of the money made it to the West Memphis Three (who have since been released) however: The crook poured it into his own band, The Honkies, instead.
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