SEC Hits New York Ticket Reseller with Fraud Charges

Fri 30th Aug 2019 | Posted by Glancy Law, on Blog

The leaders of a New York ticket resale company charged with bilking investors out of millions of dollars in cash took “keep it in the family” to a whole new level, according to federal investigators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in April charged James Siniscalchi with stealing money from investors that was supposed to be used to gobble up high-demand tickets for theatre, sporting and other events and then resell them for a profit. Siniscalchi took control of the operation after his cousin, Joseph Meli, plead guilty to criminal charges of defrauding 130 investors out of $95 million without ever buying many of the tickets for which the money was intended.

“As alleged in our complaint, investors were lured in with promises of big profits, but Siniscalchi really just took over his cousin’s fraudulent scheme to steal money,” Paul Levenson, Director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office, said in a press release announcing the charges against Siniscalchi. “Even after charging Meli, who is now in prison for his similar scam, the SEC’s investigative team continued working to protect investors from related bad conduct.”

Siniscalchi allegedly raised some $2.7 million from investors after his cousin was arrested. He told investors that the cash would be used to buy tickets to Broadway shows like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Bruce Springsteen on Broadway and Hello Dolly. He also claimed he would purchase a number of seats for the highly anticipated Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor boxing match. 

Meanwhile, Meli continued to help operate the scam, according to prosecutors. Siniscalchi and others rebranded the company and kept Mel’s name off of email communications with investors. He also referred to Meli in internal conversations as “Keyser Soze,” the secretive crime kingpin from the movie “The Usual Suspects.”

Legal Protections Against investor Fraud

Another day, another allegation of some wide-ranging scheme to scam money out of investors. Whether it is the latest ticket resale scheme or any of the vast number of other rip offs lurking, fraud is a serious risk for any investor.

Fortunately, federal and state laws offer a number of important protections. Anyone who has been victimized by investment fraud has the right to seek money damages from those responsible. That includes by pursuing a class action lawsuit on behalf of a group of people or businesses that have been targeted in the same scam. This is often an attractive option because it allows fraud victims to leverage their individual claims against a single wrongdoer. It also allows them to spread some of the financial risk.

Consult an Investment Fraud Attorney

If you have been taken advantage of by an investment sham, you should seek the advice of an experienced investment fraud attorney.

At Glancy Prongay & Murray, our lawyers have been representing clients victimized by investment fraud and for three decades. We take many cases on a variety of contingency fee arrangements, which allows us to share the risk with the people that we represent.

Call us at (310) 201-9150 or contact us online to speak with an investment fraud attorney.