Event Planning Business Details PDF

I graduated from Palm Coast University in 2019 with a degree in business administration. I own an event planning business called London’s Luxury Lounges. I’ve planned everything from baby showers to funerals, weddings to divorce parties. I’m also a licensed real estate agent. Over the last five year...

I graduated from Palm Coast University in 2019 with a degree in business administration. I own an event planning business called London’s Luxury Lounges. I’ve planned everything from baby showers to funerals, weddings to divorce parties. I’m also a licensed real estate agent. Over the last five years, Luxury Lounges has grown to be the most premiere event planning businesses in the country. Yes, my mom is one of the largest real estate brokers in New York, but I like to consider myself self-made. Luxury Lounges’ primary location is the Artisan Plaza in Swatchford. I met Cohen Grey about four years ago at a retreat in Turks and Caicos. The getaway spa was run by a mindfulness guru known simply as “Demure.” Cohen spent the month-long retreat surrounded by the who’s who of wealthy elite. At the time, I had just opened Luxury Lounges, so I knew I needed to have Cohen as a client. Once we became close friends and returned to the States, Cohen grew to be my most lucrative customer. Cohen frequently uses my venues to host elaborate parties, and often recommends my business to other socialites in Cohen’s circle. Event hough Cohen doesn’t always pay on time, Cohen has always been good for the money. I don’t know where Luxury Lounges would be without Cohen. On April 3, 2023, Cohen reached out to me with a request to book the Artisan Plaza venue for an art event. When I asked for some details, Cohen said, “It’s always been my dream to open my own art studio.” I had never heard Cohen talk about wanting to open a studio, but Cohen tends to get wrapped up in hasty visions or plans. I asked if Cohen intended to use my venue as the studio. Cohen said, “Oh, no, this is just a one-night thing. But if anyone asks, we’ll call it a grand opening.” I penciled in May as the day of Cohen’s art event. A few days before April 26, Cohen let me know that the venue would be used to store some of the paintings that were on loan for the event. I had no problem with this. In painstaking detail, Cohen told me about all the things that would be needed to keep the painting safe. I was at the venue when the construction workers installed two dehumidifiers and an indoor AC unit in the venue’s backroom. In the coming weeks, Cohen and I also coordinated all the logistics for the event. We met in person and called several vendors. We ended up picking an organic vegan menu from the new food catering service run by Polk Farms. Cohen also asked me to order beverages and decorations for the event through people that I’ve worked with in the past. Cohen paid for all of this. Between construction, decorations, food and drinks, and other additional costs, the grand total was over $40,000. It’s one of the most expensive events I’d planned to host, but this was chump change for Cohen. Cohen said that the painting would be arriving on April 26. I wasn’t at my venue that day due to another event I was hosting. I ended up giving Cohen’s best friend, Vladmir Mikhailov, a spare key to the venue. I never gave Cohen a key. I know Vlad well, but I’m not as close with him as I am with Cohen. Vlad has told me that his family has close ties with the Russian government and that he’s well-connected with several black-market billionaires. I couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or exaggerating; as far as I saw, Cohen was always paying for Vlad. Vlad once invited me to a party at his apartment. When I arrived, the walls were covered with copies of famous paintings! I said something about this to Cohen at the party, and Cohen laughed. Cohen said, “If you ever want the Mona Lisa copied, Vlad’s your guy.” On April 27, I saw Vlad’s car parked in the front. I entered my venue’s lobby and opened the door to the backroom. Vlad was sitting on a chair in the center of the room with his back to me. Two canvases were on easels, and some paint on the floor by his feet. One of the paintings was directly in front of Vlad and the other was off to the side. I could not see the painting right in front of Vlad because he was blocking my view. I was shown Exhibit 1, a photo of some painting called the Steps of the Chapel Rhone. I am confident the painting off to the side was this painting. I have also been shown Exhibit 10, a photograph of some tubes of paint; I’m quite sure those were the paints near Vlad’s feet, but I cannot be certain since I did not get a good look. As soon as I walked in, Vlad turned around and started screaming at me. He said, “Get out! You’re not supposed to be in here!” I jumped and shut the door. I wanted to give Vlad a piece of my mind—this was my venue, after all! Who was he to be kicking me out? Just then, Cohen’s car pulled into the parking lot and Cohen walked in. I told Cohen that Vlad was painting something in the back room and yelled at me for walking in. Cohen looked genuinely confused. Cohen said, “You know what? He’s probably just worried about the temperature and humidity. If we open the door too much, that painting won’t be worth much money.” Cohen then said, “I’ve got to go speak to the Frost Museum about borrowing their painting, but I’ll see you around.” Cohen left after that. When Vlad left later that evening, he approached me and asked, “What did you say to Cohen?” I responded honestly. Vlad grew nervous. As he walked outside and the door was closing, I think I heard him say something to the effect of, “Cohen can’t know about any of this.” In the coming weeks, Vlad came into the venue every single day. I’d see him walk in, holding brushes, varnish, paint or whatever. He’d stay in the backroom all day, seldom leaving to use the restroom or get food. And then, at around 7:00 PM when I had to close the shop, I’d knock on the door to the backroom to let Vlad know I was leaving. Sometimes, I’d get to the venue the next morning and would find Vlad asleep on the couch. The whole thing was incredibly bizarre. I never saw Cohen enter the back room when Vlad was there. Granted, I wasn’t at the venue every day, but I was there most days. In early May, I had a conversation with Cohen about a guest list. I could not officially reserve the venue without an official guest list for the event—that’s my policy. This wasn’t the first time I’d spoken with Cohen about this. Every time I brought it up, Cohen would just say, “I’ll get it to you eventually.” So, when I had the conversation with Cohen again, I emphasized that Cohen was at risk of losing the venue. Cohen promised that I would get the list soon. I never received the guest list or the down payment for reserving the venue. Then, in the third week of May, Addison Hunink, the Head of Corporate Events for BossAI, reached out asking to book the venue for May 25. Ms. Hunink came with a guest list and a down payment in hand. I had no other choice but to reserve the venue. On May 18, I had a phone call with Cohen where I said that the venue could not be reserved anymore, and that the next availability would not be until June. Cohen freaked out. Cohen said, “That will not work! We will have to return the painting. And Vlad will be gone by then!” Cohen then asked, “We can still use your backroom, right? Until the 26th 83 ? That is the most important part. We can keep the dehumidifiers and AC in there, right?” I said Cohen was fine until then. After that conversation, Vlad continued to enter and leave the backroom. The night of May 25 went extremely well. BossAI loved the space! The only hiccup was when someone by the name of Leigh Rose came up to the door halfway through the event. Rose said that Rose was there for some art event. At first, I was confused but then Rose showed me a flyer and said that Rose had artwork inside. I told Rose that the event had been canceled due to a booking issue. I expected Rose to be angry, but Rose did not seem concerned. Rose mumbled something like, “at least I have the two million and the insurance.” I could not hear very well, and I had no idea what Rose was talking about. After May 25, I followed up with Cohen to see if the art event would be rescheduled in the future. Cohen said, “No, I’ve moved on from that.” I did not give it a second thought until June 23 when Detective Ollie Rodriguez came knocking at the door asking about a stolen painting. I told Rodriguez everything I knew. Once Det. Rodriguez left, I immediately called Cohen. Cohen kept asking me what exactly I had told the detective. Cohen specifically asked me what I told the detective about how often Cohen saw the painting. I said I had told the officer that Cohen was never around the painting. Cohen responded, “Good, good. That is perfect.” I asked Cohen, “Do you really think Vlad did this?” Cohen responded, “No. I spoke to him last night and it seemed like everything was fine.Cohen said that Vlad said he never did anything with the painting, and it was the same painting as the one he originally received from Leigh Rose. He finally reconnected with his family.” I said, “Yeah, I can’t imagine doing something like this.” Cohen laughed and said, “Well, don’t you ever just do something to see if you can get away with it?” After that, I haven’t spoken to Cohen about this case. I am familiar with the following Exhibits: Exhibit 1 looks to be a photograph of the Steps of the Chapel Rhone. Exhibit 3 is a recent screenshot of the Instagram page co-owned by Vlad and Cohen. Exhibit 7 is a flyer that Cohen created. Exhibit 8 is an email between me and Cohen. Exhibit 10 looks to be the tubes of paint I saw Vlad with. I am not familiar with any other exhibits in this case. I swear or affirm the truthfulness of everything stated in this affidavit. Before giving a statement, I was told I should include everything that I know may be relevant to my testimony and I followed those instructions. I know that I can and must update this affidavit if anything new occurs to me until the moment before opening statements begin in this case.