An East Bay man was indicted for allegedly defrauding over 100 people of $39 million in a Ponzi scheme involving reselling Warriors and Lakers tickets.
FILE - Rissa Poblete and Michael Oducado admire their tickets to Game 3 after Golden State Warriors tickets went on sale for the first round series against the Dallas Mavericks at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Saturday, April 21, 2007.
The indictment alleges that Chu"induced investors by making numerous materially false misrepresentations, including how the investor funds would be used, how investors would be repaid, and whether the investments were secured by collateral," according to the release. Chu also allegedly mixed his investors' money with his own, using their funds to pay off other investors and spending some $7.3 million of it to pay for his own travel, luxury cars, jewelry and more, the prosecution said.
Chu was arrested Wednesday morning, after an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the San Francisco Police Department. Indictment charges include eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. If he is found guilty, he could face decades in prison.
The news comes as ticket prices at Chase Center spike, with the Warriors taking on the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. First-row tickets to Thursday night's Game 2 are going for as much as $9,000 each on
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