LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Poker pro Seyed Reza Ali Fazeli has been indicted with two counts of wire fraud for bilking investers out of more than $6 million in a suspected Super Bowl and World Cup ticket-flipping scam.
According to the indictment by a federal grand jury, Fazeli raised $6.2 million from investors in Los Angeles’ Orange County, Houston, and Las Vegas, promising them that he would buy tickets for the 2017 Super Bowl and 2018 World Cub then resell them for a “substantial profit,” according to the Orange County Register.
Fazeli’s Summit Entertainment operated online at onlinetickets.com and pacertickets.com. Investors wired money to Summit, according to federal prosecutors, but did not receive the promised returns. Fazeli was arrested Feb. 14 after an FBI investigation.
Prosecutors argued that Fazeli falsely told investors the NFL prohibited the resale of tickets and he was working on a settlement with the league, according to the Register. Prosecutors argued that the poker pro never bought the tickets in the first place and used the money to pay off gambling debts and personal expenses.
“A large portion of investor funds were used for the personal benefit of Fazeli, including millions spent at Las Vegas casinos,” FBI Special Agent B.C. Mason wrote in a court affidavit, according to the Register.
Fazeli is expected to be arraigned March 26; he faces up to 40 years in federal prison.
The poker pro is facing several civil lawsuits related to the matter as well, the paper reported.
