XO Fest Starting to Sound Pretty Sketch

Questions are being raised about a July entertainment festival boasting the appearances of T.I., Ludacris, Magic! and other artists after details about the organizer's background have come to light.

Sami Habib, identified as the owner of XO Fest organizer World Class Entertainment, is one of several aliases used by Habibullah Said Qadir, who was arrested in February on suspicion of defrauding several Fremont landlords in a series of rental scams, Amplify, a music industry publication, reported earlier this month.

Amplify has since published a series of articles raising questions about XO Fest, Habib, and attempts to cover up Habib's identity, including a May 11 article, "Is XO Fest in Northern California the Next Frye Festival?" The headline was a reference to last year's failed music festival in the Bahamas that turned out to be a scam. Amplify's story was picked up by KQED on May 18.

When Amplify asked Joe Brengle, CEO for Contra Costa Event Park, for details about the festival organizers, Brengle reportedly sent back a copy of the festival contract with Habib's name blocked out. Amplify later obtained a copy of the contract from the state, which revealed Habib's signature and identified him as the owner of World Class Entertainment.

Board members for the 23rd Agricultural Association, manager of the Contra Costa fairgrounds in Antioch, unanimously approved the $27,000 contract with World Class Entertainment in January, according to board meeting minutes.

According to the XO Fest website, the three day event will feature dozens of music and comedy acts as well as seven stages, carnival rides, the "world's biggest bounce house," an indoor skating rink, a "sky lounge" and officiated weddings. Cast members from the Jersey Shore and Carmen Electra are billed as hosts of the event. Tickets ranging from $150 for a three-day general admission ticket to $1,995 for "XO Diamond VIP 3-Day Pass."

The East Bay Times reported in February that Habibullah Said Qadir and his brother, Mohammed Said Qadir, were arrested after renting a series of high-end homes in Fremont using false names and bad checks, then stayed in the homes rent free for months while the property owners tried to evict them. Both men have criminal histories, the paper reported.

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated one-day tickets to the event were available for $150. The story has been corrected.