PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Local influencer Will Walker is facing criminal charges after being accused of scamming multiple small businesses out of thousands of dollars by failing to pay for services rendered at events he hosted across the Philadelphia area.
Known for the motto “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Walker is alleged to have deceived vendors through the use of fraudulent checks and stolen credit cards, leaving event service providers unpaid and frustrated.
One of the alleged victims, Bobby Morganstein, a veteran event planner, says Walker requested 250 chairs for a 2023 event, placing a $500 deposit using a credit card. However, when it came time to pay the remaining $3,000, the payment failed repeatedly—11 times with different cards, which Morganstein claims were stolen. Eventually, the initial deposit was reversed as fraudulent, and services were never rendered.
Months later, Morganstein received another rental request from someone named Corey Rose, who issued a $4,700 check written in Walker’s name. After Morganstein’s team unknowingly provided the event drapery, the check bounced as fake.
Similarly, Tess Riehs, a florist in Northern Liberties, said she received a $2,300 deposit over the phone for an order under the name Corey Rose, with the event allegedly for Will Walker. A man claiming to be “Tyreek” later paid the remaining balance in cash. But a week later, the credit card deposit was flagged as fraudulent.
Both Morganstein and Riehs later discovered that the phone numbers for Corey Rose, Tyreek, and Will Walker were identical—raising suspicions that Walker used aliases to orchestrate the fraud.
After other businesses came forward with similar claims, Walker was charged in May with theft by deception, forgery, and related offenses. When approached by reporters outside his initial court hearing, Walker fled on foot, avoiding questions.
Victims allege that Walker used stolen credit cards with mismatched zip codes, and many charges were later flagged as fraudulent by issuing banks.
Walker is scheduled to appear in court on July 17, and police say the investigation is still ongoing.
