EUGENE, Ore. – The former president of a company that manages country music festivals in Oregon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges.
Willamette Country Music Concerts, LLC, organized numerous music festivals, including the ill-fated Country Crossings Music Festival at the Expo in Central Point.
After just two years, the massive Country Crossings festival imploded. A major sponsor backed out, it took months for vendors to get paid, and the president of the organization behind the festival — Anne Hankins — was fired amid the reported discovery of organizational and financial issues through WCMC’s business.
The Department of Justice said Hankins falsified bank statements to influence the sale of her minority stake in WCMC.
According to prosecutors, she sent a false statement that claimed the company had $1.1 million in its account when it only had $16,000.
On September 22, 2022, Hankins was charged with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. She pleaded guilty on September 28.
Hankins could serve up to 30 years in federal prison. She’ll be sentenced in January.
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