NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Last week, we reported on WFAN radio host Craig Carton, who had been accused by the Justice Department of stealing millions as part of an elaborate scheme to buy and resell concert tickets.
According to DoJ, Carton and Joe Meli convinced investors that they had access to blocks of tickets to major concerts and sporting events that could be resold on the secondary market. However, officials allege that Carton and Meli instead used invested money to repay gambling debts and loans to casinos.
In a complaint filed by the Securities & Exchange Commission, prosecutors describe Carton using his connections with a "concert venue" to help in the theft. While the complaint did not specific which venue it was, Billboard is reporting that Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment was the company in question.
According to the SEC, Carton allegedly provided fraudulent documents and forged signatures of Barclays Center officials to support his claim that he had access to blocks of concert tickets. Then, when investor Brigade Capital Management wired Barclays $2 million to purchase a block of the promised concert tickets, Carton allegedly convinced Barclays officials that the wire transfer was an error and to forward the money to an account for a separate ticket brokerage he controlled.
"The $2 million sent from the Hedge Fund to the Venue Company, and then diverted to Tier One Tickets, was not used to purchase tickets to the two agreed-upon Barbra Streisand and Metallica concerts. In actuality, Carton misappropriated the Hedge Fund’s $2 million: $950,000 was wired to his personal account.”
Officials at the Barclays Center told Billboard that they were "working with authorities" over the matter but declined further comment, the publication said.
