Chicago Police say they have arrested eight gang members who operated a widespread ticket scam that lasted more than a decade and yielded thousands of dollars that went toward crime in the city.
They produced counterfeit tickets for Bears games at Soldier Field, Bulls and Blackhawks games at the United Center, and even concerts and events at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
“The suspects would print their tickets out, sell them on Craigslist and meet with the victims of these crimes in public areas to exchange them for cash,” Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante said.
The fraudulent tickets would earn the gang up to $60,000 per event and hundreds of thousands of dollars over time, police said.
“We know that the money is being used to basically finance the gangs, finance their operations,” said Chief Anthony Riccio, bureau of organized crime. “They use them to purchase weapons, they use them for bond, when gang members are arrested, they use them to pay attorney fees.”
More than 1,500 people were victimized, according to police. Likely among them is Jordan Meisles who lost $800 when he and his family bought fraudulent Blackhawks playoffs tickets over Craigslist
“These ones looked pretty realistic, but it's hard to tell because they change them so often,” Meisles said. “But they were perforated and cardboard material.”
Police say the fraudulent tickets were virtually impossible to identify and the victims were people who never would have suspected being touched by gang activity.
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“Some gangs try to do robberies on the streets, some try to sell narcotics, so this is just another method that they were using to try to raise money,” Riccio said.
Police picked up eight of the suspects Tuesday and are continuing to look for the other eight. They say more than these sixteen people were involved, and the investigation is ongoing.
"We're attacking gangs on all levels. from their operations, to their finances, to the violence that they commit on our streets,” Riccio said. "We know that the money was being used to basically finance the gangs, finance their operations. they use them to purchase weapons, they use them for bond when gang members are arrested they use them to pay attorney fees."