The pedals scam seems to have been something he dreamt up during lockdown. His real money making con appears to be be in entertainment. He takes bookings for venues, they pay him a deposit, then he either cancels at the last minute, or just the singer turns up. He’s often booking the same band to multiple venues on the same night.
He’s also taking money from bands for shows that are never booked.
According to a friend, he has a reputation for booking musicians but not paying them.