Meet the Wolf of Ives Street?
As the industry gets bigger and bigger, we’re being introduced to more whiz kids who are making moves faster than people twice their age. Martin Garrix dropped “Animals” at 16. Audien was nominated for a Grammy at just 22. They’re even running nightclubs.
Ian Bick from Connecticut was running Tuxedo Junction, an all-ages, dry venue out of Danbury. While the club received numerous infractions regarding the sale of liquor in the presence of minors, that’s not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Bick’s run-ins with the law. In January, he was arrested as the FBI believed he was the ringleader of a Ponzi scheme that amassed $500,000.
Did I mention that he’s only 20?
Like any young person with a shitload of money, Bick lived it up with his friends, going on trips to NYC and Key West, shopping at Tiffany’s and Gucci, and even buying jetskis. The US Attorney’s office also claims that he lied to a Postal Inspector and falsified his finances.
Again…only 20. Most Ponzi schemes you hear involve old white guys in the 40s and 50s.
When Bick’s success at Tuxedo Junction went from organizing a local teen night to outright owning the place himself, he started building the con through his family and classmates, before expanding to their parents, and then their colleagues, who were all wealthy residents of Danbury. Everyone in town knew who Bick was, including the cops, and eventually, the FBI. When he was finally arrested, the feds charged him with 11 counts of wire fraud, 3 counts of money laundering, and one count of making a false statement to federal law enforcement.
Bick posted the $250,000 bail, but the lengthy trial, which features 64 witnesses, has only just begun. For now, he continues to run Tuxedo Junction, which will host Brillz’s Twonk Di Nation tour as well as Borgore this month. Read the full story here.