Sports radio host Craig Carton arrested in alleged ticket scam
Prominent sports radio personality Craig Carton was arrested Wednesday on charges he scammed $5.6 million from investors in a ticket-reselling scheme to pay his gambling debts.
The motor-mouth co-host of the Boomer and Carton morning show on New York's WFAN allegedly switched from sports squads to crime teams last year after he racked up millions of dollars in debts to two gambling casinos and an additional $825,000 to another individual.
Carton allegedly tried to dupe one potential investor by showing a fictitious agreement to purchase millions of dollars' worth of face-value tickets to upcoming concerts by artists by Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Roger Waters, Metallica and Barbara Streisand, according to a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Similarly, he showed another investor documents about a purported agreement to buy millions of dollars' worth of concert tickets for popular singer Adele directly from her management company, the complaint charged.
"Guys. I've done it," Carton allegedly texted to an unidentified co-conspirator on Oct. 12, 2016. "One investor ready committed $10m liquid and $40m LOC [line of credit] with $50m more if needed. I need some info. List of shows we can 100% prove access to tickets."
In reality, federal authorities alleged that the agreements were phony, and the signatures of concert promoters and venue officials were forgeries, the complaint said.
The SEC charged Carton and companies he controlled with federal securities fraud. The court complaint also charged co-defendant Joseph Meli — who was previously charged with a similar reselling scam involving purported seats to the smash Broadway musical Hamilton.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed parallel criminal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud against Carton and co-defendant Michael Wright.
"Investors were lured with promises of big profits from resales of A-list concert tickets, but little did they know their money was being used to cover Carton's gambling debts," said Paul Levenson, director of the SEC's Boston regional office.
"Behind all the talk, the Wright and Carton show was just a sham, designed to fleece investors out of millions ultimately to be spent on payments to casinos and to pay off other personal debt," said Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim.
Carton and Wright were ordered released on $500,000 personal recognizance bonds following their initial appearance in Manhattan federal court.
Carton has co-hosted the popular CBS-operated show with former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason. The show has aired since 2007. A CBS Radio spokesperson told Paste BN Sports the network was aware of Carton's arrest and cooperating with authorities.
During the show's Wednesday morning broadcast, Esiason initially appeared to think that Carton had called in sick. The retired Cincinnati Bengals star later told listeners he was stunned to learn that FBI agents had arrested Carton at the radio sidekick's home in lower Manhattan.
Follow Paste BN reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc