User:Watsonjr

Born: James Walker Watson Jr. December 28, 1955 in Los Angeles, California. Parents: The late James Walker Watson Sr.(2003) and Ann Watson. Education: West Vernon Avenue Elementary School (1961-66), 42nd Street Elementary School (1966-68), Audubon Junior High School (1968-70), Crenshaw High School (1970-73), University of California Los Angeles (1973-74), Santa Monica City College (1974-75). Residence: Malibu, CA; Dallas, Tx; Houston, TX; Atlanta, GA; Upper Marlboro, MD. Occupation: Chairman/Founder Cal-Tex Enterprises (privately held, wholly owned) Entrepreneur, Concert Tour Producer, Music Festival Founder/Executive Producer, Special Events Coordinator, Rodeo Producer. Years active: 1976-Present. Political: Democratic Party. Marital Status: Single. Spouse: Smyra Bailey (1998-2003) Divorced, Cassandra Valentine (1994-1995) Divorced, Patricia Fountain (1984-1992) Divorced, Marsha Walker (1982-1983) Annulled. Children: James III (1979 Linda White) Alexander (1990 Terri Taylor) Devin (1993 Christine Woodward). Website: www.jameswatsonjr.com.

James Walker Watson, Jr. arrested and served time at least twice for stealing money from vendors and investors at both the Sacramento Jazz Festival in 1999, 2000 & 2001 and the Texas Music Festival in 2008.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2002/09/16/daily47.html

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/05/james_watson_jr_indicted_over.php

Festival organizer sentenced in bank fraud http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2002/09/16/daily47.html

The principal organizer and executive producer of the Sacramento Jazz Festival held in August 1999, 2000 and 2001 was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution, following his conviction on a single charge of bank fraud.

James Walker Watson Jr. of Los Angeles, 46, was also sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William B. Shubb to five years of probation. Of the $400,000, $250,000 will be paid to investors in the Sacramento Jazz Festivals.

The Sacramento Jazz Festival is not affiliated with the wildly popular Sacramento Jazz Jubilee that is held annually during Memorial Day weekend. The bank fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, began in June 2001 when Watson asked his mother to write three checks totaling $150,000 payable to the Society of Performing Jazz Festivals Inc. even though she told him that she didn't have the money in her checking account to cover the checks. During each bank transaction at U.S. Bank, Watson assured the same supervising bank teller that were sufficient funds in the account for each check. Bank records later confirmed that to be false. On at least two occasions in August 2001, Watson told the bank's corporate security investigator that he was aware of the overdraft, his parents were getting a divorce and that the funds would be repaid once the divorce court proceedings were completed.

In fact, his parents were not getting a divorce.

Watson pled guilty on May 15 to one count of committing bank fraud.

James Watson, Jr. Indicted Over Failed Texas Music Festival In Downtown Houston http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/05/james_watson_jr_indicted_over.php

The 2008 Texas Music Festival in downtown's Eleanor Tinsley Park was supposed to be the first of an annual event, but you might have noticed there haven't been any more.

Why not? Part of the answer might have come today, when a federal grand jury indicted promoter James Watson, Jr. for fraud in connection with the event.

Watson, 54, is currently in prison in California for a scam surrounding a jazz festival there, so we're not saying he sounds suspicious or anything, and far be it from us to connect any blazingly obvious dots.

The feds say Watson raised more than $2 million from investors for the Houston event.

"In connection with the scheme, Watson used investors to engage in a $400,000 check kite at Bank of America, fraudulently and without authorization using the credit card number of one investor to make a charge on the card in exchange for another investor who believed the card was Watson's, giving him cash," the U.S. Attorney's office said.

It's not only investors who might have got screwed -- "weather concerns" forced cancellation of at least part of the event. Los Lobos was one of the acts canceled.

Right before the 2008 event, Watson told a reporter, "This is going to be a festival with something for everyone."

Something for everyone -- except the investors, we guess.

Watson was indicted on charges of bank fraud and credit card fraud.

The maximum penalty, upon conviction, for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a fine up to $1 million. The maximum penalty for credit card fraud is 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.