New York City man gets prison time for sports ticket scam defrauding Wisconsin residents

(WLUK) — A New York City man was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for a sports ticket scam that defrauded over 100 victims nationwide, including some in Wisconsin.

Nikhil Mahtani, 28, received a 15-month sentence for wire fraud.

Court documents state that between approximately Jan. 2019 and Dec. 2022, Mahtani placed more than 1,000 Craigslist ads offering high-end tickets and luxury box suites to professional sporting events around the country, including the NFL and the NBA.

Numerous victims throughout the Eastern District of Wisconsin and elsewhere were victimized by Mahtani, who accepted thousands of dollars in payments for tickets and suites he knew were not real.”

Officials described one instance in which a large group of friends and family arrived at Fiserv Forum the night the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship in 2021, only to be turned away and told their tickets were fraudulent.

Mahtani is estimated to have stolen approximately $120,000 from more than 100 victims across the United States.

At sentencing, the judge considered the “serious nature” of the crime and the need to “deter the defendant and others” from engaging in scams like this one.

He rejected Mahtani’s request for probation noting that this was not a “crime of impulse,” but rather a “systematic victimization” of sports fans who had their hearts set on attending a variety of professional sporting events including Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Bucks games.

Along with his prison sentence, Mahtani was ordered to pay $88,000 in restitution to his victims. He will also spent three years on supervised release.

According to a news release, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office assisted Homeland Security Investigations and the New York Police Department Financial Crimes Task Force in investigation this case.