Watch CBS News

Sacramento Sushi Fans Rolled By Fake Festival

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Ticketholders are angry over a bogus sushi festival advertised in Sacramento.

It was originally set to take place in downtown back in May, then rescheduled for July. But some event hopefuls say they never got their tickets.

"If it's too good to be true, maybe it might be," said Susan Bartorona, who lives in Auburn.

Bartorona and her friend saw this flyer for Sushi Fest Sacramento, scheduled to take place May 12-13.

"We both signed up for a ticket," she said. "It cost $35 for the VIP."

She expected drinks, sushi and a good time with her friend! But instead, she got a message on May 10 from a company named Brown Paper Tickets.

"The event had been postponed to a later date," Bartorona explained.

So Bartorona called that organizer, a company named Fanoomies Entertainment. But the number didn't work.

The event page listed the new date as July 7-8 and the location as the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. Bartorona called the hotel as the new date approached.

"And they had no clue what I was talking about!" she said.

CBS13 spoke to the Kendall Erlenbusch, Director of Events at the Hyatt, over the phone. She said Fanoomies asked about renting ballroom space but never made a reservation.

An irritated Bartorona emailed Fanoomies again.

"Have you been scamming people?" she wrote. "I want my $35 dollars back."

But she didn't hear back from a person; she got a Delivery Status Notification Failure reply. CBS 13 got the same response.

Now Bartorona says she's not sure she'll get her money back. But wants to warn others not to be afraid to keep asking questions if you ever have a bad feeling you're being played.

"If they are scamming people right now on just an event, where else are they going to pop up and what's this money being used for?" she said.

The hotel also told CBS13 staff asked Fanoomies several times to take down the Hyatt's address as the event's location. But the company did not reply.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.