Jeffrey Thurn, a resident of Hartford, South Dakota, has been sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The sentence was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno. Thurn is also required to pay approximately $5.1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to operating a fraudulent ticket re-selling scheme.
Court records reveal that Thurn, aged 39, convinced victims to invest over $5 million into his supposed ticket re-selling business named Backstage Tickets. He assured investors that he would purchase tickets with their funds and resell them for profit. Thurn made several promises, including a guarantee of generating a certain amount of profit before taking any fees and refunding investor money if an event was canceled or rescheduled.
To appear legitimate and encourage further investment, Thurn provided fake receipts from third-party ticket re-sellers as proof of completed sales. However, these transactions never occurred as the receipts were fabricated.
Thurn admitted in his factual proffer that the funds raised from investors were used for his personal gain.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Jeffrey B. Veltri, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Miami Field Office.
The FBI's Miami Field Office conducted the investigation, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz prosecuted the case.
Further details and related court documents can be accessed on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 23-cr-20481.