Owner of abandoned event venue was evicted, has history of fraud

The abrupt closure of a North Las Vegas event venue left clients stunned and angry.

Last week, Channel 13 introduced you to Dia Gage, a grieving mother who booked Life Legacy Venue to honor her late son. Gage paid $2,500 in advance only to discover the venue had shut down without any warning.

After our report aired, dozens of clients who were also scammed have now come forward.

“I finally met the man of my dreams, and now we are coming back to Vegas to get married in front of family and friends, and then this happened,” said Glenda Johnson, who set the date for her wedding months ago.

Johnson imagined a dream setting and says now, it’s become her worst nightmare.

“We have been planning this wedding for almost a year and a half now, and I just started crying,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who lives in New Jersey, said she sent a friend to do a walk-through of the space — but the Life Legacy Venue had no signs of life.

“I've been left in the dark,” Johnson said.

All together, Johnson said she lost $5,000 between debit card transactions and Zelle transfers.

“I really don’t know how to think at the moment. I really don’t know,” Johnson said.

Other clients who were scammed and contacted Channel 13 said they, too, lost significant sums of money and wanted answers. So we went looking for them.

“If something was going wrong with the venue, refund everybody their money back. I think that justice needs to prevail for people that are doing things like this. This is not right,” Johnson said.

What happened to Life Legacy Venue, and why did it close?

The owner of Life Legacy Venue is Devin Brooks, but a sign posted on the door outside the venue told people to call a guy named "Jerry" for more information. Jerry claimed to be Brooks’ uncle and told us his nephew had allegedly fled with the funds and closed the business. Channel 13 learned Brooks was evicted from the property on August 12.

• REPORTER: Do you, in a way, understand their [the clients'] frustration with the situation?
  JERRY: I do. I don’t understand, I over -stand if I can say that and it makes sense to you.
  
• REPORTER: There are people that are maybe questioning, “Are you in on this with Devin?” What do you have to say to that?
  JERRY: I’m not in on anything. My name is not on anything. I don't know what to say. I just feel bad, as well.
  

Devin Brooks was sentenced for medicaid fraud in 2022

Channel 13 also uncovered that Brooks has a criminal past that raises serious concerns. We reached out to Devin Brooks to speak with him directly, but our calls were not returned.

In September 2022, the Nevada Attorney General announced Brooks was sentenced for Medicaid fraud after being convicted of failing to maintain proper records. He received a suspended sentence of 364 days in the Clark County Detention Center, was placed on probation, and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.

What can clients do if they were scammed?

The North Las Vegas Police Department says they cannot intervene because this is a civil matter rather than a criminal one. The Attorney General’s office recommends clients who were impacted file a formal complaint with Nevada Consumer Affairs. They can call Nevada Consumer Affairs at 844-594-7275, send an email to consumerhelp@business.nv.gov or submit the complaint form online .