Two men from New York were sentenced for a counterfeit ticket scheme revolving around tickets to A-list artists’ concerts and large-scale sporting events.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 49-year-old Damon Daniels of The Bronx was sentenced to two years in prison and one of his co-defendants, 31-year-old Rahiem Watts of the Bronx, was sentenced to three years and five months behind bars, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Philadelphia said in a press release. Following their prison time, both men will spend three years on supervised release.
The release noted that the pair had sold fake tickets on Craigslist for hundreds of dollars each. The scheme involved tickets to live sporting events like Super Bowl 51 between the Falcons and Patriots, the game between the Eagles and Giants in 2017, and the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball ACC Championship game between Duke and Notre Dame. During that year, the pair also sold counterfeit tickets to popstar Adele’s shows and U2 concerts across the country.
Smith worked alongside co-defendant Eric Ferguson, 50, of Riverdale, Georgia. Ferguson testified against Smith, saying that he was recruited to produce and sell the tickets. He was one of the 13 suspects indicted in January 2019 in similar ticket scam schemes, AJC had reported at the time. Another man, Eugene Smith, 45, of Lithonia, Georgia was also one of the suspects and has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for selling counterfeit tickets to similar events, including Super Bowl 51.
Daniels was arrested by Duluth police in January 2019 after he was pulled over for having an expired tag, authorities said. The FBI investigated the case alongside Duluth police, New York City police, and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Last September, Daniels pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, the release said, followed by Watts’ guilty plea two months later.
