Two GoCR executives face federal bank fraud charges over NewBo Evolve

Two former Go Cedar Rapids executives are facing federal charges regarding NewBo Evolve.

Then President and CEO of GoCR Aaron McCreight, 46, of Dothan Alabama, and GoCR’s Finance Director Doug Hargrave, 54, of Puyallup, Washington, were both charged with one count of bank fraud. The federal charges were filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Documents say McCreight and Hargrave executed a scheme to defraud a Cedar Rapids bank in connection to loans for NewBo Evolve.

NewBo Evolve was a three-day music event, featuring concerts by Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson, in August 2018.

Court documents say McCreight and Hargrave allegedly defrauded the bank by misrepresenting Newbo Evolve’s ticket sales, projected revenue, projected expenses, and the true amount of loss expected.

The documents say, based on this fraudulent information, the bank loaned GoCR hundreds of thousands of dollars to be used to finance Newbo Evolve.

If convicted, the two each face a possible maximum of 30 years in prison, a fine and a period of supervised release.

First appearance dates in court have not yet been set.