|
|
| Former University of Kansas Fundraiser Jailed for Four Years in Ticketing Scandal |
|
Rodney Jones, 42, plead guilty in January to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after an independent probe ordered by Kansas found that millions of dollars worth of athletic tickets had been diverted for the purpose of re-selling them to brokers. Jones, 42, was the second former employee ordered to prison this week in the scheme. He was the assistant athletic director in charge of the Williams Fund, the fundraising arm of Kansas athletics.
In addition to imposing a 46-month term, the judge ordered Jones to pay almost $1.2 million in restitution to the University of Kansas and $113,800 to the Internal Revenue Service. Jones and four other defendants also are subject to a $2 million forfeiture judgment. The investigation found that approximately 19,000 tickets for football and basketball games were diverted between 2005 and 2009 at a cost of nearly $2 million to the university. Prosecutors claimed the ring earned as much as $5 million from the ticket scheme. "The defendant's conduct was extensive and protracted," Assistant US Attorney Richard Hathaway wrote about Jones' actions. "It brought him vast wealth which he pretty much lavished upon himself with a lifestyle he could otherwise ill afford." Jones, who ran Kansas' ticket office before being named head of the athletic department's fundraising arm, was also ordered pay $1.2 million in restitution to the university and $114,000 to the Internal Revenue Service in unpaid taxes. "I have made a terrible mistake that I will continue to pay for the rest of my life," Jones said, according to Kansas' Lawrence Journal World. US District Judge Wesley Brown issued the sentence one day after Jones' former colleague, Kassie Liebsch, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for her role in the ticket scheme. Two other former employees, Jason Jeffries and Brandon Simmons, were each sentenced to two years' probation after pleading guilty to charges of withholding information from authorities. Three more conspirators, who have all pleaded guilty, await sentencing. Related Articles: UK Broker Jailed for Eight Months A UK broker who applied for England and Manchester United tickets in false names such as Mr Rhubarb and Mr Gravy has been canned for eight months.
Hundreds of ticketing professionals attend 2nd annual Ticket Summit in New York City by Alfred Branch Jr.
An estimated 500 ticket brokers and other ticketing professional descended on the Waldorf=Astoria for Ticket Summit this week, where the attendees networked with their cohorts and learned what the future holds for the secondary ticket market.
USA Ticket Industry Talks Paperless Ticketing at Billboard Touring Conference Executives from Ticketmaster Entertainment, StubHub, Live Nation and TicketNews's parent company TicketNetwork battled it out over the issue of paperless ticketing during a panel at the Billboard Touring Conference & Awards Wednesday in Manhattan, and while few minds were changed the charged debate... Ticketmaster Signs Exclusive Deal to Provide Ticketing Services for the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Ticketmaster, a Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:TKTM) company,
is proud to announce it has signed an exclusive deal to provide the ticketing
services for the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Dutch Mafia-Linked Brokers Allegedly Threaten Primary Ticketing Officials Right on the cusp of the first meetings of the Dutch Parliament, on November 26th, concerning new, restrictive legislation in the Secondary Ticketing Market, officials came forth from both the KNVB (National Football Association) and Mojo Concerts (part of Live Nation) with allegations of strong... Italian Promoter to Test Dynamic Ticketing According to the Italian music press, and following the success of Andrea Pieroni from Live in Italy's dynamic model for ticketing campaign in August this year with the artist W.A.S.P., another test for their dynamic ticketing model will be held for the Italian Gods of Metal, all-Italian branch of...
|
The former boss of sports fundraising at the University of Kansas was recently sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for his orchestration of a $2 million ticket scheme, The 