STrib: FBI investigating possible fraud in University of Minnesota ticket office

BleedGopher

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per Marcus:

The FBI is conducting an investigation into possible fraud in the Gophers ticket department, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Star Tribune Thursday.

Earlier this year, the U’s office of internal audit discovered some discrepancies in ticket records, the source said. After taking action of its own to address the situation, the university turned over those findings to the FBI.

Former Gophers ticket operations director Brent Holck, who helped start the Golden Ticket promotions program for men’s basketball in 2012, was fired in February. Holck had been the ticket manager for U athletics since 2008.

The Gophers officially announced on May 26 the hiring of assistant athletic director Ryan Dillon to fill Holck’s role.

http://www.startribune.com/fbi-assi...of-possible-fraud-in-ticket-office/425830553/

Go Gophers!!
 


There's a bombshell. Wouldn't want to be Brent Holck.


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Stealing tix to sell cheap on StubHub and on the corner?


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Stealing tix to sell cheap on StubHub and on the corner?


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Not saying you are wrong, but would that really lead to a FBI investigation? (Don't know what else it could be so you may well be correct.)
 

Not saying you are wrong, but would that really lead to a FBI investigation? (Don't know what else it could be so you may well be correct.)

It says the U turned it over to the FBI after taking their own actions. Is this the U self reporting something minor to cover their bases and the FBI just going through the motions? You'd think the FBI would have better stuff to do than some fool selling stolen tix or whatever. However if it's FANS getting swindled out of money, I hope they burn the bastard.


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Not saying you are wrong, but would that really lead to a FBI investigation? (Don't know what else it could be so you may well be correct.)

I'm likely wrong. Just trying to think of things other than embezzlement that it could be.


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It's probably a complex scheme to get season ticket holders to pay more, and then offering deeply discounted seats to casual fans during the season!


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It's probably a complex scheme to get season ticket holders to pay more, and then offering deeply discounted seats to casual fans during the season!

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Lie and cheat with full disclosure you're going to lie and cheat.

"I told them I was overcharging and they bought season tickets anyway officer, I didn't do anything wrong officer"
 

Not saying you are wrong, but would that really lead to a FBI investigation? (Don't know what else it could be so you may well be correct.)

Sold tickets across state lines maybe?

Hid money elsewhere kinda thing perhaps?
 





It's probably a complex scheme to get season ticket holders to pay more, and then offering deeply discounted seats to casual fans during the season!

Needed a laugh. Thanks.
 

I guess the Athletic Department was due for another scandal. It would be nice to go a year or so without these types of things coming up.
 



The FBI has a broad mandate to investigate financial crime the thing is the FBI usually doesn't get involved unless your talking six figures or more. Here's a link to the FBI information page on white collar crime https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime. I would guess that there is some combination of financial fraud and money laundering that gives them jurisdiction.
 


So this scheme involved the three major sports Football, Mens basketball, Hockey.

The FBI has a broad mandate to investigate financial crime the thing is the FBI usually doesn't get involved unless your talking six figures or more. Here's a link to the FBI information page on white collar crime https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime. I would guess that there is some combination of financial fraud and money laundering that gives them jurisdiction.

The internal audit by the University said many tickets for Football, Men's basketball, and men's Hockey were logged as unsold in their ticket office computer systems, yet there POS systems must have indicated something else as in the tickets were scanned in at the gate. This scheme has to be a lot bigger than just the one fired individual ticket office manager selling tickets, there had to be more people involved than just the ticket office manager in this fraud scheme.
The fact that the University athletic department turned this over to the FBI means there is likely "wire fraud" ticket's sold on resale sites like Stub Hub, Seat Geek, Ticket King, other ticket exchange sites (Disclaimer nobody on those sites, do I claim sold tickets or knowingly sold fraudulent tickets). Having transactions like unsold inventory scanned at the ticket gate and then for that information to come up in an audit, unsold tickets coming up sold would indicate possibly installed malware on the central system. There forensics units should be able to determine if any type of malware was installed to cover up the tickets sold, or possibly even other employees involved beyond the fired ticket manager. The probability of more employees involved in this ticket scheme likely exists.

I purchased tickets from a resale site last year for football(seat geek and stub hub fees have gotten obnoxiously high) and when they scanned them at the gate they said they were no good, not valid tickets on the scanners(My lesson learned as the hassle to buy additional tickets at the gate meant missing the first quarter paying a higher price than if I hadn't putzed around with an unknown website, luckily I purchased the invalid tickets with Visa so I was able to dispute the charge for services not rendered for the invalid tickets.

The fired ticket manager likely has an IRS audit coming his way amongst possible other investigations, if he was part of a bigger group or plot he better be preparing a plot to spill the beans.
 



Do a google search on his name and you will find a news article back from 2011 about him ticket web site. Should have been a red flag back then. http://blogs.mprnews.org/oncampus/2...cials-endorsement-violates-university-policy/

Meh. Total non-issue in my opinion. AudienceView is the software used by the U for everything ticket-related including athletics, concerts/plays at Northrop, fundraising activities hosted by academic departments, etc. The article even states that the policy had recently changed and was unclear with regard to providing "endorsements" of the product.
 

Meh. Total non-issue in my opinion. AudienceView is the software used by the U for everything ticket-related including athletics, concerts/plays at Northrop, fundraising activities hosted by academic departments, etc. The article even states that the policy had recently changed and was unclear with regard to providing "endorsements" of the product.

Yeah, if the U turned an investigation over to the FBI because the ticket office said they liked working with a ticket software vendor, it's an even bigger amateur hour show than previously demonstrated. Even if there were kickbacks involved this is a fireable offense, not a "let's get the FBI to investigate" level offense.

My guess is that a large number of tickets involved across multiple sports were systematically sold online for the FBI to be involved.

Given the administration at the U, it's probably a complaint that is most likely title IX related. I can imagine the crack EOAA squad at the U bringing allegations that the ticket manager unfairly and maliciously didn't include fraudulently profiting off of women's sports tickets in his scheme. Further proof we don't treat women's sports equally.
 

Hmm, clearly a pattern of irresponsibility and disregard for rules. This is the best candidate for a management position, after background searches? I recently had an interesting conversation with a casino executive and I recall their hiring criteria for people around money are extremely stringent. Any pattern of character deficits are a big red flag. Yes, even casinos like honest, responsible employees...

"Brent Holck's criminal record shows he has more than 40 traffic violations, mostly parking tickets and expired tags. Regents Board Chair Dean Johnson called it, "quite disturbing that a U of M employee would have such a record and no one would be aware.""

http://kstp.com/news/university-of-...tion-criminal-activity-ticket-office/4502401/
 

It says the U turned it over to the FBI after taking their own actions. Is this the U self reporting something minor to cover their bases and the FBI just going through the motions? You'd think the FBI would have better stuff to do than some fool selling stolen tix or whatever. However if it's FANS getting swindled out of money, I hope they burn the bastard.


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The FBI doesn't "go through the motions". Hey-sus.
 

Hmm, clearly a pattern of irresponsibility and disregard for rules. This is the best candidate for a management position, after background searches? I recently had an interesting conversation with a casino executive and I recall their hiring criteria for people around money are extremely stringent. Any pattern of character deficits are a big red flag. Yes, even casinos like honest, responsible employees...

"Brent Holck's criminal record shows he has more than 40 traffic violations, mostly parking tickets and expired tags. Regents Board Chair Dean Johnson called it, "quite disturbing that a U of M employee would have such a record and no one would be aware.""

http://kstp.com/news/university-of-...tion-criminal-activity-ticket-office/4502401/

Gaming licenses are actually pretty hard to get.

So, one guy has knowledge of inventory AND can validate seats AND can resell them? Sounds like they hired a stoner to sell Doritos, and gave him the cash box and the inventory.
 

The FBI doesn't "go through the motions". Hey-sus.

I guess I meant if they were only looking into it because the U reported it. Not out of some all out investigation or suspicion. By going thru the motions I meant just doing what they gotta do, but not necessarily enthusiastically.


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