<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Chicago Woman Sentenced to Nearly 4 Years for Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Involving Bogus Event Ticket Business</h3>



<p>CHICAGO — A Chicago woman has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for operating a multi-million dollar fraud scheme that duped investors into believing she could earn profits on the secondary market for concert and sports tickets.</p>



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<p>TRACY MONTI fraudulently obtained more than $5 million from investors by misrepresenting that she could purchase tickets for sporting events and concerts from primary market sources at face value or at a discount through purported connections in the event business and then re-sell the tickets for a profit on the secondary market. ; In reality, Monti used the victims’ funds to purchase various items for herself, including a house in Chicago, a Dodge Challenger, tattoos, vacations, and shopping sprees at Victoria’s Secret and Neiman Marcus. ; Monti also made Ponzi-type payments to early investors.</p>



<p>Monti, 44, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of wire fraud.  ;U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah on Tuesday sentenced Monti to 46 months in prison and ordered her to pay $4,997,958 in restitution to victims.</p>



<p>The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Gabriel L. Grchan, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.</p>



<p>The fraud scheme began in 2010 and continued until 2015.  ;Monti misrepresented to investors that she had business relationships with multiple primary sources, such as event promoters and venues, through which she could purchase tickets at face value before re-selling them for a profit.  ;Those relationships did not actually exist. ; Monti victimized more than ten investors, one of whom took money out of his pension to invest in Monti’s scam.</p>



<p>“This case involves a brazen and merciless scheme to defraud,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri H. Mecklenburg argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. ; “Defendant cast a wide net, seeking victims wherever and whenever she could.”</p>



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