Days after news broke that broker Gene Hammett, the victim of an alleged Vancouver Olympic ticket scam, had launched a new ticket resale Web site, the site has been pulled down.
Visitors to ActionSportsTours.com are now greeted by a placeholder splash page from internet hosting company Network Solutions. The site was removed late last week and had been up for several weeks.
Hammett, whose previous ticket resale business called Action Seating, is embroiled in a legal fight with former friend and Olympic athlete David Bunevacz over $3 million worth of Vancouver Olympic tickets that Bunevacz allegedly promised Hammett but never delivered. Bunevacz allegedly took the money in installments from Hammett, but claims that he gave it to a third party, a Hong Kong company called Mocra Limited, which then reneged on providing the tickets.
Several brokers, in addition to Razorgator and eSeats.com, had put up the money for the approximately 17,000 tickets Bunevacz was slated to deliver, based on orders from fans.
Those fans never received their tickets, and Hammett and the brokers are still waiting for Bunevacz to return the $3 million, which is the subject of the lawsuit.
When reached today, October 26, Hammett told TicketNews that he is not going to re-enter the secondary ticket industry, but that the new site helped him in his search for employment. “At this point, I’m not trying to get back into the business. I’m focusing on other employment opportunities,” he said, declining to elaborate.
In the months since the Olympics debacle, Hammett has worked extensively with his lawyer, Jim Moriarty, a partner in the Texas law firm Moriarty Leyendecker, to build his case. Court hearings and Bunevacz’ deposition are scheduled for next month.
“I’m trying to work things out, and I’d like to thank all those people — starting with Jim [Moriarty] — who are giving me the chance to try to make this right,” Hammett said.