Police warn Patriots fans about counterfeit Super Bowl tickets

BOSTON — Boston Police are warning Patriots fans about counterfeit Super Bowl tickets.

Boston 25 News has learned that several people in Atlanta lost thousands of dollars trying to buy tickets to Sunday's game.

And, Atlanta Police are looking for a woman who got away with over $100,000 in a Super Bowl ticket scam. The woman is not being named because she has not been criminally charged.

Several police reports were filed throughout the metro Atlanta area. One victim says he lost $15,000 of his hard-earned money in the scam.

When Atlantans found out the Super Bowl would be held in their city, they were excited about the opportunity it could bring.

Our tickets were 50-yard line access, Section 128, like, the best tickets you could buy," said Adam Woodward, a victim of the Super Bowl ticket scam.

Woodward says he dished out $15,000 to a friend for Super Bowl tickets last fall as an investment to re-sell them, pay off debt and buy a new home.

"We transferred money to her and had it understood that we would receive the tickets in a few months when the tickets were released from the NFL," Woodward said.

He and his girlfriend were supposed to pick up the tickets last Monday, but their friend of nearly a decade was nowhere to be found.

"We told her, 'Hey, if we don’t get our information, we’re just going to have to contact the authorities,' and she turned off her phone and she just, poof, bye bye," Woodward said.

Woodward already had buyers ready to pay him $100,000 for the tickets, so he filed a police report. And he wasn't the only one.

Boston 25 News found police reports that contain similar stories from four other victims, involving the same woman. In total, the woman allegedly got away with $90,000.

"If you see a deal that's too good to be true, it probably is," said Ryan Kelley, sale manager at ACE Tickets.

Kelley said it's always best to buy tickets through a certified dealer.

"We got right here that Super Bowl logo," he said.

He also showed Boston 25 News how to spot counterfeit tickets.

"So this is what a ticket is going to look like when you're just looking at the regular light. Whip out your black light, you got the host city Atlanta right there," Kelley said.

Because of his loss, Woodward had to back out of the contract on a new home. But he says he will move forward, only this time, he'll leave the hope of a better life he thought this Super Bowl would bring, in the past.

"I mean, nobody wants to be betrayed. Nobody wants to lose the money. I think even more so than the money was the opportunity to kind of start fresh," he said.

At least one other person is wanted for a Super Bowl ticket scam that took more than $130,000 from an Atlanta family. Neither suspect has been arrested, according to police.

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