HAMILTON Ponzi Schemer Takes Plea Deal Following Misconduct

As BroadwayWorld reported in February, two New York city men were charged with fraud by the SEC for running a Ponzi scheme with money raised from investors to fund businesses purportedly created to purchase and resell tickets to such high-demand shows as the Broadway musical Hamilton.

Now according to the Hollywood Reporter, the accused, Joseph Meli, has accepted a plea bargain after it was revealed that a confidential witness "lured him outside the presence of his attorney."

The ticket broker plead guilty to securities fraud, but several other charges were dismissed as a part of the deal.

A court document reads: "At issue are the Government's tactics in its pre-indictment investigation of Mr. Meli on January 26, 2017. On that date, the Government directed its informant Mark Varacchi (the 'Confidential Witness' or the 'CW'), a longtime friend of Mr. Meli's, to surreptitiously record Mr. Meli outside the presence of the legal counsel that Mr. Meli had retained in connection with the Government's investigation. That day - over the phone, in-person, and via WhatsApp message - Mr. Meli insisted to the CW that he 'hired a [lawyer] named Marc Kasowitz,' that he 'can't leave' his attorneys' office, and that any conversation between the two of them happen at his 'attorneys' office.' Despite Mr. Meli's repeated protests, the Government knowingly sent the CW to bypass Mr. Meli's attorneys, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, and to lure Mr. Meli into isolation so that he could be questioned outside the presence of his counsel and without the benefit of legal advice."