Woman Lost $300K to Kenny Chesney Impostor Then Took the Real Singer to Court

Over the last few years, artists have consistently urged fans not to donate to any person claiming to be them. Learning new ways to take advantage of people, scammers have incorporated AI to help them confuse fans. And for one California woman, it worked. Not only did she believe she was speaking with Kenny Chesney, she thought he was the one she sent $300,000 to. When the individual learned about the deception, she decided to take not the scammers but Chesney himself to court. 

According to the lawsuit, Patricia Linson claimed that Chesney should be held accountable for her losing $300,000. Although the country singer played no role in the scam, Linson insisted that he failed to warn fans about the scammers. If that wasn’t enough, she added, “Linson alleged, among other things, that Chesney likely knew third parties were impersonating him to steal money from others and that he owed her a duty to warn and protect her against such scams.”

To give her lawsuit more credibility, Linson suggested that an employee within Chesney’s camp was the one to blame. “Linson also alleged that an unknown employee of Chesney may have aided and abetted the impersonator by leaking confidential information about Chesney’s music business to the impersonator, which the impersonator used to convince Linson that he was Chesney.”

[RELATED: Kenny Chesney Surprises Sphere Crowd With Eric Church—Who Promptly Forgets His Biggest Hit]

Kenny Chesney Fan Loses Twice!

Wanting her $300,000 back, Linson found her way to the Los Angeles appeals court. Hoping the justice system would support her claims, the official ruling read, “Chesney did not owe her a duty to warn or protect her against the impersonator’s scam. We conclude the court correctly found Chesney owed Linson no such duty. Because Linson has not otherwise shown the court erred in dismissing any of her claims against Chesney, we affirm.” 

With Linson losing both a lawsuit and $300,000, the story acted as yet another warning to fans. While it might seem like a dream to have one’s favorite singer contact them, the reality – it was most likely a scam. 

Although the court cleared Chesney of responsibility, the scammers behind the scheme remained at the center of Linson’s staggering loss. Her case also highlighted just how difficult it can be for victims to recover their money once a celebrity impersonation scam has succeeded. 

Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)