A Georgia man who defrauded his friends and family out of nearly $1 million in a Super Bowl scam is wanted by police.
Authorities say Ketan Shah, a Gwinnett County, Georgia businessman, somehow convinced multiple people to give him hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for premium access to this year’s Super Bowl in Atlanta. The only problem is, he didn’t have that kind of access. (RELATED: A Man Named ‘Super Bowl’ Was Arrested For Alleged Assault. I Wish I Was Lying)
Norcross businessman Ketan Shah is on the run, accused of scamming people out of about $1M in fake Super Bowl tickets. One of the victims is his own mother. His daughter just told me, “We’re victims too.” Details on this bizarre case @ 11. pic.twitter.com/6Q4YYSU314
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) February 1, 2019
Shah, who owns a number of digital printing shops in the area, promised friends, families, and colleagues the experience of a lifetime. According to seized text messages, the scam began around November.
“One hundred level seating with access to the concierge lounge and a few pre-parties. I find the whole situation kind of bizarre, and hopefully, there will be some kind of logical explanation,” Minish Shah (reportedly unrelated) explained to Atlanta ABC-affiliate WSB-TV.
Ketan Shah’s biggest scam clocked in at $500,000. He somehow convinced a colleague in Columbus, Georgia that he could get him tickets, as well as an opportunity to host an arena Super Bowl event.
His closest scam was his mother, who told police she lost $36,000 in the swindle.
But here’s the really crazy part … nobody knows where he is now.
His family thinks Shah may have gone to Las Vegas recently (because, of course), “as part of a midlife crisis,” but it’s unclear where he is now.
“We’d certainly like to get his side and see if there’s something more … some trouble that he’s been in,” Cpl. Wilbert Rundles, a local police spokesman told WSB-TV. “It’s a very odd situation that you would take people this close to you and scam this kind of money — any money — but especially this large of an amount, and then just disappear.”
Shah has until Sunday to produce his side of the story.