UMN's Former Ticketing Director Charged In Ticket Fraud Scheme
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The former head of sports ticket sales at the University of Minnesota has been charged in a ticket fraud scheme.
In June of 2017, WCCO first reported that the FBI was investigating the alleged fraud case that was believed to have been going on for years.
Brent Holck, 37, was charged with wire fraud.
A probe by the University of Minnesota's Office of Internal Audit discovered discrepancies in ticket transaction records.
"In essence, we had tickets that were distributed for Gopher events and we had tickets that were used, but the revenue wasn't tying back to those tickets," said Mark Coyle, University of Minnesota athletic director.
The University of Minnesota said Brent Holck was later fired. Investigators say the scheme was complex.
According to a criminal complaint, Holck would look for and find completed sales in the university's ticketing system, usually after a game was over. He would then allegedly delete those orders and have refunds issued to accounts that were under his control.
Investigators say Holck also issued tickets and parking passes to personal or business acquaintances, who sold those tickets and gave the majority of the money to Holck.
"My client has been taking responsibility for this all along," said Peter Wold, Holck's attorney. "He intends to plead guilty and is working toward making restitution."
Wold said he has not been told how much money came to Holck from his activities.
According to the University of Minnesota, no fan lost any money as a result of Holck's scheme. The university says improvements have been made to the ticket distribution system for better control.
Holck's first court appearance is set for Nov. 14.
