Four men from New York have been busted for selling phony hockey tickets to playoff games in Pittsburgh, including the Stanley Cup finals.
Taylor Williams, 28, Juan Ramirez, 19, Shawn Stewart, 18, and Gerald Vailes, 45, were all arrested in the Steel City and charged with forgery, theft by deception and trademark counterfeiting as a result of their scam, according to police.
The scalpers were thrown behind bars following a month-long investigation by local authorities— which turned up more than 50 fake tickets and over $2,000 in cash, a criminal complaint says.
They were taken into custody at different times, with the most recent arrest coming this week during the final Stanley Cup series between the hometown Penguins and Nashville Predators.
Cops on Wednesday busted Stewart and Ramirez after one of their alleged victims claimed he bought a counterfeit ticket to Game 3, the complaint says.
When officers questioned Ramirez about the accusations, he allegedly told them: “I don’t carry money. I’m from the Bronx, this is my job, I make 30 stacks a week, I got a lawyer for days like this, I just got out, I’m on parole for attempted homicide.”
According to the complaint, Ramirez had been the one who sold the initial ticket to the man who alerted police. Cops said he was arrested after the victim arranged a meeting with him.
While looking through the young man’s phone, officers discovered an identification card and credit card in the case, belonging to Stewart. They also noticed that the pair had called each other five times in the span of three minutes.
Stewart, who is from Manhattan, had been using a phone at a nearby salon, which cops went to, soon-after
They found the teen there and searched him, uncovering an envelope with 16 fake tickets inside, the complaint says.
Seats for Game 3 on Saturday have going for more than $4,350 on secondary market sites, such as StubHub.
Ramirez and Vailes, who is also from The Bronx, were each charged this week after being caught Tuesday and Wednesday.
Williams, who is from Morris Heights, was arrested earlier this month.
Unable to post bail, they all remained locked up in the Allegheny County Jail on Friday.