A Wrigleyville rooftop owner was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly scheming to withhold hundreds of thousands of dollars in dues to the Chicago Cubs, the state of Illinois, Cook County and the city of Chicago, U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon announced Friday.
Forty-six-year-old R. Marc Hamid, a Chicago resident and attorney licensed in Illinois, was charged with four counts of mail fraud in an indictment returned Thursday by a federal grand jury. The indictment claims he owes at least $600,000 in alleged fraud proceeds.
Hamid owned and operated the rooftop venue Skybox on Sheffield located beyond the right field wall and bleachers of Wrigley Field. He also owned and operated companies that purchased and re-sold tickets to entertainment and sporting events, including JustGreatTickets.com and Just Great Seats.
According to the indictment, Skybox allegedly submitted false annual royalty statements to the Cubs from 2008 to 2011, underreporting event attendance figures by thousands of paid attendees and underreporting revenues for the rooftop by a total of more than $1.5 million. The move reportedly kept Skybox from paying hundreds of thousands of dollars due to state and local taxing authorities.
The indictment claims Hamid falsely reported that Skybox had fewer than 200 attendees during events at the rooftop, complying with city ordinances that limit the number of attendees at rooftop events to 200 people. Hamid also allegedly diverted sales from Skybox to his ticket businesses to “conceal some of the rooftop revenues from the Cubs and others.”
Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or an alternate fine of twice the loss or twice the gain, whichever is greater.
The indictment comes amid a legal battle between the Cubs and rooftops owners.
Chicago Baseball
On Monday, attorneys for the Cubs and two of the rooftops delivered seven hours of arguments in Chicago over whether Judge Virginia Kendall should order a halt to construction of a right-field sign until a wide-ranging lawsuit is resolved.
The rooftop businesses line streets outside Wrigley and offer views of Cubs games without going into the stadium. The Cubs have a revenue-sharing agreement with the private rooftop owners, but team owners say nothing in that 2004 deal prevents them putting up the video board and other signs that would obstruct the rooftop views.
