Two New York men have been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars in what the agency described as a “Hamilton” ticket-resale Ponzi scheme. A funding agreement with an investor described in the complaint refers to a deal supposedly made between one of the ticket-reselling enterprises and a “Hamilton” producer to purchase 35,000 tickets. But the SEC said none of the men’s ticket-reselling businesses had any legitimate agreement with that “Hamilton” producer and that the 35,000 tickets were never purchased with investor money. Instead, the men allegedly diverted almost $2 million for personal expenses, such as jewelry purchases and private school and camp tuition, according to the SEC. At least $48 million of the incoming funds from investors was used to make Ponzi payments to earlier investors by using newer investors’ money, according to the SEC.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 28, 2017 01:32 UTC