Ex-Cedar Rapids Non-Profit Leaders Charged With Fraud For 2018 Music Festival

(Cedar Rapids, IA) — Two former executives of a Cedar Rapids non-profit are facing federal charges. Forty-six-year-old Aaron McCreight and 54-year-old Doug Hargrave are each charged with one count of bank fraud. The charges alleged that McCreight, who was then CEO of Go Cedar Rapids (“Go-C-R”), and Hargrave, who was the organization’s finance director, executed a scheme to get thousands of dollars in loans to finance the Newbo Evolve music and cultural event in August of 2018. The information alleges the two made misrepresentations about the event’s ticket sales, projected revenue, projected expenses, and the true amount of loss expected to get the bank to loan them the money. The three-day music festival featured Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson.