Source: Independent for AINews
By: Rick C. Limpert
(ATLANTA, GA) — The defense, in attempt to show rampant credit card fraud in the Steven Kaplan/Gold Club racketeering trial is bringing out patrons who say they were overbilled during visits to the Gold Club.
Dwight Allen Kent, and Atlanta businessman left the Gold Club in the wee hours of August 6, 1998 after signing a bill for what he thought was around $5,000. An embarrassed Kent says he was billed for over $24,000 by two different credit card companies. Kent said he me with Gold Club officials to complain about being overbilled, but when his credit card company pressed him for payment he did pay the bills. "I had too much to drink. I spent too much money," were Kent’s comments on the stand.
Similar tales came from Frank W. Smith, a bachelor and insurance executive from Montgomery, AL and John Berger, who owns a marketing firm in Chicago, who doesn’t recall much except having three drinks. Smith, the only of the three who had somewhat clear recollection of the evenings said he started signing receipts for champagne and dancers when he learned he could touch dancer’s breasts and buttocks in the private VIP rooms. He thought his bill totaled somewhere around $2880, but was actually billed around $13,000.
About Rick C. Limpert:
Rick C. Limpert is the owner of SBC Photography (www.sbcphotog.com) in Atlanta, and the Spring Break Girls website (www.springbreak.5u.com). He is giving ongoing coverage of the Gold Club trial for AINews.com. He can be reached through his website for additional information or interviews.
