by Mallory Allen, FOX 11 News
A New York City man, Nikhil Mahtani, 28, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for a widespread sports ticket scam that defrauded over 100 victims nationwide, including several in Wisconsin.
Between January 2019 and December 2022, Mahtani posted more than 1,000 advertisements on Craigslist, offering high-end tickets and luxury box suites for major sporting events, including NFL and NBA games. Victims across the Eastern District of Wisconsin and beyond paid thousands of dollars for tickets and suites that Mahtani knew were fraudulent.
One notable incident involved a group of friends and family who arrived at the Fiserv Forum on the night the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship in 2021, only to be turned away because their tickets were fake.
Mahtani is estimated to have stolen approximately $120,000 from victims throughout the United States. During sentencing, the judge emphasized the serious nature of Mahtani’s crimes, stating that this was not a “crime of impulse” but rather a “systematic victimization” of sports fans eager to attend games, including those of the Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Bucks.
In addition to his prison sentence, Mahtani was ordered to pay $88,000 in restitution to his victims and will spend three years on supervised release following his imprisonment.
The investigation was supported by the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York Police Department Financial Crimes Task Force.