Catfish Kidd Cole and Lucille preview clip and major spoilers
This week’s episode of Catfish veers from the familiar “I fell in love online” territory to explore criminal acts of identity theft and fraud.
At the center of it all is Lucille, a music fan from Philadelphia, who discovered 19-year-old hip-hop producer Kidd Cole online. She reached out to compliment his work and was later contacted by Kidd’s self-identified agent, Miguel, who asked her to help promote Kidd’s music. She eagerly agreed to pitch in for a day, but somehow got roped into working for two weeks and contributing her own money to lock down rides and venues for Kidd’s upcoming visit to the area. She was promised $1,000 — but was instead hit with nearly $24,000 in invoices.
After the incident, Lucille convinced she’d been duped. She just wanted to figure out who was responsible and whether he’d pulled the same scam on anyone else. Explaining her cop friends said it wasn’t a criminal issue and she didn’t have the money to pursue the civil case on her own, Lucille called in Nev and Max for help.
Now for the SPOILERS!
Jerez Coleman, aka Kidd Cole, has been making the rounds with inflated claims for years. In 2012, he posted on ReverbNation that he was working with Kanye West. He also quoted “cousin” Will Smith: “You know what happened is, my youngest cousin, Jerez, he’s very serious about acting, so he’s taking it all and working out, and he’s talking to me now.”
In 2013, he told True Magazine he was collaborating with Big Sean and working with Jaden Smith on a clothing line. He added he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. (A quick search proves that was a lie.)
Along the way, Jerez apparently attempted multiple scams similar to the one that ensnared Lucille. The lies caught up to him in December 2013, when — speaking as “manager Miguel Melendez” — he promised to get Big Sean to speak at Virginia Commonwealth University. Jerez allegedly showed up and spoke with students for several minutes while using a British accent. He then said Big Sean had another engagement and wouldn’t be able to make speak to them.
According to Richmond Times Dispatch, students had already paid for tickets. A limo company also didn’t get compensated for their services. VCU went to the police with the complaint and Jerez was charged with identity theft and fraud. On May 16, a judge ordered a mental evaluation to determine whether Jerez “was sane at the time of the alleged crime.” He is next set to appear in court on August 8.
Authorities believe Jerez/Kidd/Miguel pulled the same scam with a Maryland university. Lucille is independently getting the word out about Jerez’s alleged crimes with a Facebook page, KIDD COLE AKA KING COLE SCAM Artist. As recently as February, a woman named Sue posted Jerez scammed her and a friend out of $1,000. She was publicly contacted by Nev during his investigation…
Lucille and Kidd Cole’s episode of Catfish airs on MTV on Wednesday at 10/9c.
