ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The two promoters of a boxing event at Blue Cross Arena who left boxers and others unpaid for months have been indicted on various charges.
Clay Harris and Derick Gramling are charged with scheming to defraud, grand larceny, writing bad checks, and petit larceny. Gramling turned himself in Friday morning, and State Police arrested Harris in Kingston, N.Y., after failing to turn himself in.
About the boxing event
Harris and Gramling hosted a boxing event at Blue Cross Arena back in April. The arena said the ticket sales from the event didn’t cover the cost, resulting in Harris and Gramling owing tens of thousands of dollars.
Boxers, referees, and others who participated in the event were still waiting for paychecks for months after the event happened.
Court appearance
News10NBC’s Garrett Chan was in the courtroom when the indictments were unsealed. Gramling and Harris both appeared in front of Judge Michael Ansaldi in handcuffs, with Harris wearing a tan jumpsuit.
Garrett caught Harris leaving from the back of the Monroe County Jail. Harris gave a brief statement but did not elaborate on the charges.
“Shouldn’t have brought none of these charges. Should’ve been civil, not criminal. We’ll talk later, okay,” Harris said.
What the attorneys say
Attorneys representing Harris and Gramling said their clients had no intent to defraud or steal money. “And as a matter of fact, that based on my understanding, there’s been agreements reached with everybody involved except for one party, which they were working on, which is common in a civil case, which this is not a criminal case,” Teo Siguenza, Harris’ attorney, said.
Monroe County Senior Assistant District Attorney Caroline Rodriguez said they had been trying to get both Gramling and Harris to turn themselves in for weeks, getting a warrant for their arrest in late July. “As you heard on the record, you know, my schedule has not really allowed for it. So today was our first available day to turn himself in. But, you know, Derrick’s ready to fight the charges. He’s not running. He’s not going anywhere,” Matt Winchell, attorney for Gramling, said.
Rodriguez said the unsealing of the indictments was an important first step to make sure everyone gets paid. “Because it’s been sealed, I haven’t been able to talk to them about the charges. I wasn’t even able to touch base with them that they were being arraigned…I’m looking forward to hopefully getting some of the money back for them,” Rodriguez said.
The judge ordered both Gramling and Harris to stay in Monroe County and surrender their passports, as they are considered flight risks. The judge also mandated that Harris be equipped with GPS electronic monitoring.
Both Harris and Grambling are scheduled to be back in court next week.
