Concert and film producer Gary Harmon—whose organization brought a series of celebrities to perform in Morgan Hill in recent years—is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from local victims, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Harmon was arrested by police in Las Vegas, Nev., March 23, on a warrant from Morgan Hill Police Department. He is currently being held in Las Vegas, without bail, while authorities determine if and when they can transport him back to Santa Clara County, according to MHPD Sgt. Carson Thomas.
He was arrested on a $250,000 warrant for grand theft and other charges, police said.
Specifically, Harmon faces two counts of grand theft and three counts of securities fraud (violations of the California corporations code), according to Deputy DA Erica Engin.
Harmon, formerly a Morgan Hill resident, also faces an “aggravated white collar crime” enhancement to the charges, which means he is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from his victims, Engin added.
If convicted of all five charges, Harmon faces a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.
Harmon has not been formally arraigned in Santa Clara County court yet, but he had an extradition hearing in Clark County, Nev. March 27, Engin said. Once he enters local custody, Harmon will have the option to post bail or bond before his arraignment.
Engin said the specific facts of the allegations against Harmon are not public information yet. But Mike DiRubio, a Morgan Hill resident and former associate of Harmon’s, said he called police more than a year ago to report that Harmon had “embezzled” $250,000 from him. The alleged embezzlement occurred while Harmon and DiRubio worked together for ARTTEC, a media arts and training production program that produced a number of concerts featuring big-name celebrities in Morgan Hill in 2013 and 2014. These include the 2013 Kihncert at the Outdoor Sports Center, which featured Greg Kihn, Bret Michaels, dada, The Tubes and Tommy Tutone; and a March 2014 fundraiser featuring the 1990s hit band SmashMouth at Troy’s Bocce Ball at Tennant Station.
Then in August 2014, ARTTEC’s local summer concert series, which also raised money for various causes, brought Queensryche, Kiefer Sutherland and his band ZZ Lightfoot, Survivor and Dennis Rodman to the Community and Cultural Center’s Downtown Amphitheater.
Harmon is the director of ARTTEC, which is now listed on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website as a domestic nonprofit corporation.
Harmon and associated production companies have also been embroiled in a number of civil lawsuits, many involving financial transactions, in Santa Clara County Superior Court in recent years.
One of these was filed in July 2015 against DiRubio, who said this “frivolous lawsuit” was a retaliation against DiRubio for reporting him to the police. That complaint, filed by Harmon and ISE Entertainment, accuses DiRubio of libel, slander and misrepresentation. The complaint cites statements made in public in which DiRubio accused Harmon of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars that DiRubio invested in ISE Entertainment. In the complaint, Harmon denies he stole the money.
DiRubio denies Harmon’s allegations.
Police have not confirmed that Harmon’s arrest is related to DiRubio’s accusations.
ISE Entertainment is listed as a domestic corporation on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website.
Harmon also currently has a lawsuit against country-western musician Willie Nelson, actor Kerry Wallum and others, accusing them of fraud related to a film production deal that allegedly failed.
Harmon and ISE Entertainment, of which he is also director, are the plaintiffs who filed that lawsuit in 2015. But that lawsuit follows a previous one filed in 2013 by Wallum against Harmon, which claimed Harmon is the one who defrauded the film investors.
Also in 2013, Harmon and associates sued the Sobrato Arts Foundation for Education, claiming SAFE refused to pay the plaintiffs’ salaries while they worked for the defendant. SAFE has denied those allegations.
More details about MHPD’s allegations against Harmon and upcoming court dates will be published as they are available.
