A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a prolific ticket broker convicted of a lucrative yearslong scam involving the Chicago White Sox to a year-and-a-half in prison.
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a prolific ticket broker convicted of a lucrative yearslong scam involving theA January 2020 indictment charged ticket broker Bruce Lee with wire fraud and money laundering, and a jury found Lee guilty last fall of several counts of wire fraud.
Leading up to his sentencing, Lee’s lawyers made the eye-catching argument that the Sox benefited from Lee’s scheme because it brought fans to the ballpark to spend money. They even insisted that "White Sox fans are the baseball fans that drink the most alcohol at a game."Meanwhile, the feds say $1.1 million of Lee’s assets inexplicably disappeared sometime after December 2019, a month before his indictment.
The scam first came to light in October 2019 with an FBI affidavit about the suspicious ticket sales, especially surrounding the August 2018 debut of pitcher Michael Kopech. A few months later, prosecutors accused Lee of making $868,369 by selling 34,876 fraudulently obtained tickets during the 2016 through 2019 baseball seasons.
The Sox’s data analytics team flagged Lee as a StubHub seller who had "sold more White Sox tickets than anyone else by a substantial margin," and the team approached the FBI in October 2018. The analytics team also thought Lee might have had inside help.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
AP sources: White House seeks another $30B for COVID battleThe Biden administration is telling Congress that it needs an additional $30 billion to press ahead with the fight against COVID-19.
Read more »
Senators, Eager to Act on Ukraine But Deferential to White House, Eye ResolutionStopping short of legislation to impose sanctions on Russia, the U.S. Senate is considering a resolution in support of Ukraine as senators are eager to respond to Russian President Vladimir Vladimir Putin’s aggression
Read more »
Tech exec looked for Trump dirt on White House computers, says DurhamA tech executive “exploited” his access to computer data at the Trump White House to find “derogatory information” about fmr. President Trump, a special counsel appointed during the Trump administration says.
Read more »
Trevor Noah to Headline White House Correspondents' DinnerTrevor Noah, who hosts “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, will be the headliner at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 30
Read more »
Second Graders Will See Their 'Heart Work' in First Lady's White House Valentine's Day DisplayThe students were asked to use words that reflect several values in their own heart designs: compassion, courage, family, gratitude, healing, hope, kindness, love, peace, strength and unity.
Read more »