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Posted: Thursday, December 16th, 2004 3:58 AM HST

Missouri school band sues travel agent for fraud

By Associated Press

WILLARD, Mo. (AP) _ A school band in Missouri is suing a Michigan travel agency for allegedly extorting tens of thousands of dollars stemming from a trip to perform in a Hawaii parade. Willard Band Boosters and the school district in Willard, Missouri, are seeking damages from Performing Arts Abroad for breach of contract, fraud and violation of the Merchandising Practices Act. According to the lawsuit filed last week in Greene County Circuit Court, band and school district officials reached an agreement with P-A-A two years ago for a June trip to participate in the Pan Pacific Parade and to perform at the Battleship Missouri Memorial. The suit claims the band paid the agreed-upon 460-thousand dollars in advance of the trip. But the agency later informed the band that it owed an additional 42-thousand dollars, and if it wasn't paid within ten days the trip would be canceled and all payments lost. The band sent an additional 22-thousand dollars and promised to pay the remaining 20-thousand dollars. (Copyright 2004 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)