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Legal
Braxton impersonator still in jail, promoter arrested
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 7 May 2009
Toni Braxton tribute artist Trina Johnson Finn, who, as previously reported, was arrested in Suriname after being accused of deliberately attempting to dupe fans and pass herself off as the singer, is still in prison, more than two months after the controversial fake gig.
Johnson-Finn is set to appear in court in the South American country on 26 May to face charges of defrauding people who bought tickets for the event, which the singer’s husband, Raymond Finn, says was actually the scheme of dodgy local promoter Angel Ventura, who was finally arrested on Monday.
Finn says that Trina herself was duped by Ventura, as she had no idea that the concert was being promoted as an actual Toni Braxton gig. He says of the forty year old singer, who has had a long career as a tribute artist “Trina’s been isolated there for two months. She doesn’t understand why she’s being used as a scapegoat”. He also expressed relief that Angel Ventura had been tracked down, after his disappearance following the ill-fated concert.
It’s difficult to know what really happened here. Johnson-Finn seemingly had a contract with Ventura which read “purchaser agrees that there will not be any advertisements or promotions, whatsoever, listing the performer as literally being Toni Braxton”, and supporters claim that’s enough to prove her innocence. Others say she knew what she was doing. Her Surinamese lawyer Kathleen Brandon is quoted as saying: “She has done no wrong, so it is difficult for her to spend so much time in jail to await the start of the trial”.
