Celebration Fest never actually planned

Foley police arrested 37-year-old Justin Anthony Gray on Tuesday. He's accused of selling tickets for a Christian Rock Concert that wasn't going to happen.

"Either he's conning people or he is just a terrible planner," said Lt. David White with the Foley Police Department.

Richard Blanton was helping Gray organize the concert, known as "Celebration Fest".

Blanton said he lined up a $25,000 sponsorship, but once Gray sent him a fake email about ticket sales, he called police.

"Oh, I hate that it didn't happen, but I couldn't risk knowing people were going to get beat out of it, especially good, honest church going people," Blanton said.

Investigators say when they arrested Gray on Tuesday, he had done nothing to make the May 16th concert a reality.

"You're looking at 10 days until the concert. He still hasn't secured the location, he hasn't secured the stages, he hasn't secured the bands," White said.

Investigators say Gray even lied about his marketing strategy. Investigators have recovered 16-hundred tickets, but they say 400 are still missing.

"It's wrapped up and it's all over with and I'll be honest with you, you have to learn a lesson and you can't cheat people in life, that's the wrong thing to do," Blanton said.

Gray is charged with Theft of Property by Deception.

Police say he has bonded out of jail. However, more charges could be pending.