German fashion brand Philipp Plein was reportedly scammed by Kanye West associate Malik Yusef, who claimed he could book West to appear at the brand’s New York Fashion Week event, as the Blast reports. TMZ reported earlier today that an individual associated with Kanye “misrepresented himself to Plein as Kanye’s rep” to book the performance.

Sources speaking to the Blast say that Kanye knew nothing about the proposed performance, and that $750,000 was wired to “Donda S. House Inc.” for Kanye’s appearance at their February 11 event. (The contracts allegedly feature a stamp of a signature above Kanye’s name.) The New York Times confirms that Kanye will not be performing at the Philipp Plein event next week. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Kanye for further comment.

The Kanye-founded non-profit formerly known as Donda’s House—which changed its name to Art of Culture, Inc. in June 2018—has denied all involvement. When contacted by Pitchfork, Art of Culture co-founder and executive director Donnie Smith gave the following statement:

Art of Culture Inc. was contacted today by a reporter inquiring about our knowledge as to whether our organization received a wire transfer receipt of funds connected to an as claimed Kanye West performance by an entity called “Donda S. House Inc.” Art of Culture Inc. changed its name publicly in June of 2018 from Donda’s House Inc. to Art of Culture Inc. and is in no way connected to or related to Donda Social, or Donda S. House Inc. Art of Culture Inc. has no knowledge of any specific contracts, transactions or relationships connected to performances by Kanye West, or related to Donda Social or Donda S. House Inc.

The Blast also reports that an additional $150,000 was wired to Burundi Partlow Consulting, which is a Chicago-based company run by music industry figure Burundi Partlow, according to Facebook. Pitchfork has reached out to Partlow for comment.

After rumors surfaced that Kanye would be appearing at the Philipp Plein show, his wife Kim Kardashian tweeted, “He’s not performing at any fashion show this season. Just a rumor.” In November, Yusef announced that he would be embarking on an 808s & Heartbreak anniversary tour in 2019, sans Kanye. At the time, he said in a statement to Pitchfork, “I don’t do anything without Kanye’s blessing.”

https://pitchfork.com/news/kanye-associate-malik-yusef-books-fake-kanye-show-scams-fashion-brand-out-of-750000-report