Woman: Man Claiming To Be Country Music Singer Kenny Chesney Conned Her Into Loan

VAN NUYS (CBSLA) - A woman is seeking more than $500,000 from a man and a woman who she alleges conned her into making a loan in 2021 to a man she thought was singer Kenny Chesney, but who instead was someone else by the same name and who has never repaid her.

The defendants in the Van Nuys Superior Court lawsuit brought Thursday by realtor Patricia Linson are Kenny Chesney -- but not the entertainer -- and Nayri Apelian, who Linson says had an impressive business background, making the plaintiff more confident that she would be making the loan to the actual country singer. Chesney told Linson that Apelian was his partner, according to the suit.

The lawsuit's allegations include fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Linson seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Representatives for the defendants could not be immediately reached for comment.

Linson was contacted in February 2021 through Linkedin by a man claiming to be Chesney, the suit states. Through subsequent conversations, the man convinced Linson into believing he was the actual singer, that his accounts were temporarily frozen and that if Linson advanced him money, he would repay her with interest within six months, the suit states.

"What ultimately gave (Linson) the confidence to loan Chesney money was when he brought defendant Nayri Apelian into the picture," the suit states.

Linson's subsequent research verified that Apelian was an actual person who appeared through the defendant's website and social media to be "a very credible and reputable person," according to the suit.

In April 2021, Linson agreed to loan Chesney $310,000 with all the money to be funneled through Apelian because the defendants said that any funds sent to Chesney would be seized, the suit states.

Linson initially sent $90,000 and the remainder in Bitcoin. She desired to meet with Chesney, so she flew to Tennessee after the two agreed on a location, the suit states. However, Chesney was a "no-show" and while she was still at the airport he claimed his attorney had just told him he could not meet Linson because it would "put her at risk," the suit states.

Linson became concerned she was being scammed and she hired a private investigator to surveil Apelian's home, according to the suit. The investigator reported seeing a man going in and out of Apelian's home house on several occasions who appeared to be the real Chesney, the suit states.

But when the loan became due in June, Chesney said he was unable to pay, the suit states.

"At this time, plaintiff was convinced that Chesney was a fraud," according to the suit.

Chesney and Apelian have not paid back any of the money despite a demand letter from Linson's attorney sent to Chesney, the suit states.

Linson is seeking $507,000, representing the principal plus interest, penalties and nearly $57,000 in taxes that she had to withdraw from her 401k account to make the loan, the suit states.