I remember when a friend of mine sent me an email saying that Dionne Warwick was scheduled to host an inauguration ball– my reply to the email was, “Who dug her up?!!”  Don’t get me wrong, Dionne was once the shiznit in her day, and I used to tune in faithfully to watch her host “Solid Gold” back in the day… But then the former diva and cousin of Whitney Houston took a strange turn and began appearing in those weird Psychic Friends Network commercials… Then she (somehow) dated Phillip Michael Thomas from “Miami Vice” and became involved in numerous tax scandals… and eventually she fell off the radar altogether…  So when more emails began circulating about “Dionne Warwick’s Inaugural Ball,” I had to wonder, just who in the HELL would even WANT to go???  Well, apparently some desperate folks did.  Unfortunately, those wanna-be partyers not only never made it to the “ball” but also may have been scammed out of their money and personal information as well.  SHADY!!!!!!!!

Master blogger Perez Hilton shares the dirty details of the alleged scam:

The cancelled Dionne Warwick American Music Inaugural Ball has left ticket purchasers and volunteers without any explanation and growing concern for their lost money and the fate of sensitive personal information they were scammed into giving up.

Promoters claimed they needed volunteers’ social security numbers to clear for a potential visit from President Obama, which was a total scam.

People who bought tickets have been able to trace their purchases to a disconnected number in Dallas, and the “Dionne and Friends” foundation to which others mailed checks has been virtually inactive for years nor holds any record of non-profit status with the IRS. Sketchy!

Calls and emails have not been returned, but an email from someone claiming to be Warwick thanked and apologized to volunteers, and, to add insult to injury, said that when help is needed again, “I trust that I will be able to call upon you.”

Dionne and/or the folks who used her name for this sham of an event should be ashamed!  We hope that the poor patrons involved don’t end up losing any more of their hard-earned money to this scandal.  And I really hope that Dionne isn’t as guilty as she looks right about now!  What a shame!

FWO-ForWomenOnline.com!