Brigade Capital, a hedge fund, agreed to provide a credit line of as much as $10 million and sent $4.6 million to Carton and his business partners for tickets to Barbra Streisand, Metallica and other concerts, prosecutors said. The owner of a medical-supply business on Long Island provided Carton with $450,000 to start a new venture, they said.
Instead of buying tickets, Carton and his partners almost immediately used the cash for other purposes, according to prosecutors. After Brigade Capital in December 2016 wired $700,000 to an account controlled by Carton’s former partner, Michael Wright, he gave $200,000 to Carton, who repaid a debt at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. Wright sent the other $500,000 to Harvey Klein, one of two men who testified at the trial that they had regularly loaned money to Carton at high interest rates for gambling.
Wright pleaded guilty in September, and two men, including another one of Carton’s partners, Joseph Meli, pleaded guilty last year to a separate scam involving tickets to events including the blockbuster musical Hamilton.
Desperate Gambler
Prosecutors painted Carton as a desperate gambler continually seeking funds to satisfy a mountain of debt, going from one investor to another looking for more sources of capital.
"When Carton ran out of money from one victim, he brought in another victim, telling more lies and stealing more money," Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisha Kobre told the jury during closing arguments.
Carton didn’t testify in his own defense.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.