Man Sentenced for Sports Ticket Fraud Targeting Wisconsin Residents

June 13 :
The federal court in Wisconsin handed down a sentence of fifteen months for wire fraud to twenty-eight-year-old Nikhil S. Mahtani of New York City. Mahtani allegedly took almost $120,000 from more than a hundred victims in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the US. The Eastern District of Wisconsin's United States Attorney, Gregory J. Haanstad, announced Mahtani's punishment on June 12, 2024.

According to court documents, Mahtani advertised over a thousand times on Craigslist, offering premium tickets and box suites to professional sporting events nationwide, including those of the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), between January 4, 2019, and December 11, 2022, according to a press release from the Justice Department.

After taking thousands of dollars for fake suites and tickets, Mahtani preyed on a number of unsuspecting victims in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

The news release mentions an incident where a big party celebrating the 2021 NBA championship victory of the Milwaukee Bucks was denied entry to Fiserv Forum and informed they had been duped.

During the sentencing hearing, Senior US District Judge William C. Griesbach emphasised the gravity of the offence and the importance of dissuading others from participating in similar fraudulent activities. The judge denied Mahtani's request for probation, stating that the incident was not an impulsive act but rather the "systematic victimisation" of sports enthusiasts who were planning to attend multiple professional games, such as those involving the Green Bay Packers and the Milwaukee Bucks.

In addition to the $88,000 in compensation that was awarded against him, Mahtani will serve a 15-month prison sentence. In addition, he has a three-year supervised release sentence. The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Financial Crimes Task Force of the New York Police Department, and the New York Police Department all worked together to investigate this case.