New York City Man Scammed Thousands From Packers, Bucks Fans: Feds

WISCONSIN — A 28-year-old New York City man has admitted to scamming Wisconsin and other sports fans out of thousands of dollars, U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad announced this week.

On Tuesday, Nikhil S. Mahtani was arraigned in federal court and immediately entered a guilty plea to a wire fraud charge.

Mahtani faces up to 20 years in prison and could be fined up to $250,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10.

The NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force worked with Wisconsin's Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office on the case.

Between January 2019 and December 2022, Mahtani placed over 1,000 ads on Craigslist offering high-end tickets and luxury box suite passes to the National Football League, National Basketball League, and other professional sporting events, authorities said.

Sports fans in Wisconsin and elsewhere paid Mahtani thousands of dollars in payments for tickets and suite passes that were not real, according to investigators.

Among the victims were a large group of friends and family who arrived at the Fiserv Forum the night the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship in 2021, only to be turned away and told their tickets were fraudulent, authorities said.

Mahtani received approximately $100,000 from victims in Wisconsin and across the U.S., according to prosecutors.

Mahtani faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment when he sentenced by Senior United States District Court Judge William C. Griesbach on May 10, 2024. He may also be fined up to $250,000 and could serve up to three years on supervised release.

This case was investigated by the NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.