Men charged with stealing, selling tickets

Pair accused in $3.7 million golf scam

A West Chester man and a Delaware County man were charged this week with conspiring with a former U.S. Golf Association employee to steal and sell thousands of U.S. Open tickets worth more than $3.7 million.

Charged were Jeremi Michael Conaway, 46, of West Chester, and James Bell, 69, of Glen Mills. They were charged by Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbitter Williams with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of wire fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Conaway and Bell each conspired with former USGA employee Robert Fryer, who already pleaded guilty to similar charges, to operating a fraud scheme against the USGA whereby Fryer would steal U.S. Open tickets and provide them to Conaway and Bell in return for cash.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Conaway and Bell sold these U.S. Open tickets through their companies for a profit. The filings also allege that the USGA had no knowledge that Fryer was stealing these tickets or providing them to the ticket brokers.

In fact, the USGA had a strict 20 ticket cap on the number of tickets that it would sell to any one person, but Conaway and Bell were allegedly able to acquire thousands of tickets to U.S. Open tournaments by buying stolen tickets from Fryer, who delivered the stolen U.S. Open tickets to Conaway and Bell sometimes in person, and sometimes by sending them via Federal Express or UPS, either to the ticket brokers themselves or directly to their customers.

Charges filed against Conaway alleges that Conaway, who initially worked for another ticket broker, began purchasing from Fryer stolen U.S. Open tickets in 2013 when the U.S. Open was held at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore. In connection with the 2013 through 2015 U.S. Open tournaments, Conaway sold, through his then-employer, a total of 4,918 stolen U.S. Open tickets that he had obtained from Fryer, with a face value of $774,230.

Starting in 2015, Conaway began selling the stolen tickets

through a new ticket broker company he owned and operated, Eagle Eye Ticketing Management, LLC (“Eagle Eye”). In connection with the 2015 through 2019 U.S. Open tournaments, Conaway purchased from Fryer and sold through Eagle Eye 10,586 stolen U.S. Open tournament tickets for $1,789,853, for which defendant Conaway paid Fryer $513,719, thus earning a profit of $1.2 million, which the Information seeks to have forfeited.

All told, whether through his employer or through his own company, Conaway obtained stolen U.S. Open tickets from Fryer that had a face value of $2.4 million, which should have been paid to the USGA for the tickets, thus causing to USGA to lose that amount of ticket revenue.

Bell, who operated Sherry’s Theater Ticket Agency, Inc. (“Sherry’s”), began purchasing stolen U.S. Open tickets from Fryer in 2017, in advance of the U.S. Open that was held at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin, and continued purchasing stolen tickets through the 2019 U.S. Open.

Bell paid Fryer $324,652 for at least 7,000 stolen U.S. Open tournament tickets, which Bell sold for $922,886, thus yielding a profit of $598,234, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks to have forfeited. The information alleges that all told, Bell obtained stolen U.S. Open tickets from Fryer that had a face value of $1.2 million, which should have been paid to the USGA for the tickets, thus causing USGA to lose that amount of ticket revenue.

“These defendants allegedly stole revenue from an American institution and legitimate business that pays taxes, employs many, supports a non-profit organization, and brings excitement and income to our district with U.S. Open events at courses like the Merion Golf Club,” said Williams. “Criminals that conduct ticket schemes like this prey on the excitement surrounding big events; fans should remember that any item with a low price that seems ‘too good to be true’ should be cause for caution and concern.”

Conaway and Bell each face a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, a $1.2 million fine, and a $500 special assessment. In addition, Conaway and Bell each will be required to pay restitution to the USGA and forfeit the proceeds each obtained as a result of their fraud.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.