I entered into an agreement with a Charles Gardner of IEC Studios and of Charles G Photography in which Charles, for a booking fee, would have the fashion model Suelyn Medieros of www.Iluvsuelyn.com host an event at my venue. According to Charles Gardner, in order for the event to take place I would need to sign a contract and give Charles an $850 deposit through his paypal account. On August 25, 2009 I gave Charles $850 via paypal and faxed him the signed contract. This agreement was a scam in which Charles Gardner and his cohorts take the money, provide no service, and run.

When I confronted Charles with the fact that he has taken my deposit and has not cooperated with getting me the flight information for Suelyn or helping in anyway with facilitating the booking, Charles told me that he had given my deposit money to an individual named Marcus Blassingame of TSD Agency and of BlackMen Magazine. I asked Charles why he would give my deposit money to someone when he has a fiduciary responsibility to hold my money until the event is complete. Charles’ only response was that Marcus is the agent for Suelyn and I must work with Marcus.

In total disbelief, I reluctantly contacted Marcus Blassingame. Working with Marcus was a nightmare from the beginning. Initially, Marcus told me that he had received “NO” money from Charles regarding a booking with Suelyn. After several dozen calls to both Charles and Marcus they did find a way for Marcus to admit that he had the deposit money. However, Marcus said Charles owed him money, and Charles said Marcus owed him money and somehow they were commingling and holding my deposit money to cover the debts they had with each other. It was total shenanigans. Even though neither Marcus nor Charles were assisting with the booking, Marcus was unwilling to return the deposit money. Marcus said I had to sign a new agreement with him and book Suelyn on a different date plus he was keeping my money. With no options, I agreed to sign the agreement with Marcus through his company TSD Agency. After signing his agreement, he sent me a text saying he was keeping my deposit and will “take my apology in cash.” I believe this was his way of saying he was going to steal my deposit money.

I then called Charles Gardner to find out why he gave my deposit money to Marcus and also to notify him that I wanted my deposit back. Charles said that the money was now with the Model Suelyn and I must deal with her to get my money back. He further went on to state that Suelyn would not provide him with the name of the individual she wanted to accompany her to the event or other pertinent information. Thus, he cannot assist me in having her host the event. Once again, Charles removed himself from the situation. However, this time he did not give me any contract information for Suelyn.

As can be clearly seen, this is a scam performed by Charles Gardner and Marcus Blassingame. There is no way to deal with these two individuals other than in court. People must BEWARE of CHARLES GARDER of IEC STUDIOS as if you give him any money, he will take it and provide no service in return. This has been a six week nightmare where I have had to cancel two events and am out $850. BE CAUTIOS WHEN DEALING THE CHARLES GARDNER OF IEC STUDIOS!!!