Man Charged by Manhattan District Attorney for Selling Forged HAMILTON Tickets

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of ANTHONY HUGER, 32, for selling and attempting to sell forged tickets to the Broadway musical Hamilton. The defendant is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with ten counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, among other charges. [1]

"Scammers pick the hottest tickets in town in order to trap unwitting victims," said District Attorney Vance. "As a Grammy- and Pulitzer-winning musical that is sold out through January 2017, 'Hamilton' fits the bill. I urge theatergoers only to purchase tickets through authorized vendors, and to beware of deals that seem too good to be true. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with our partners in the NYPD to combat these opportunistic scammers."

According to documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court, HUGER advertised Hamilton tickets for sale on Craiglist.com, and sold or attempted to sell forged tickets to the ads' respondents on three occasions.

On January 8, 2016, a husband and wife from Westchester County contacted the defendant through his Craigslist ad, and agreed to meet him the next day at the corner of West 79th Street and Broadway in order to purchase three tickets for Hamilton for $450. The victims only discovered that the tickets were forged when they were denied entrance to the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where Hamilton is currently playing.

Similarly, on February 12, 2016, a Manhattan resident responded to HUGER's Craigslist ad, and agreed to meet him at the corner of West 100th Street and Broadway in order to purchase two Hamilton tickets for $300. After the victim paid the defendant in cash, the victim's wife suspected the tickets may have been forged, and contacted officers in the NYPD's 17th Precinct. Working with the officers, the victim's wife contacted HUGER, and arranged to meet in person to purchase four additional tickets. Officers observed the defendant attempt to sell her forged tickets, and placed the defendant under arrest. Two additional forged tickets were found on the defendant's person.

Assistant District Attorney Spencer Willig is handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Gloria Garcia, Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau; Assistant District Attorney Michael Sachs, Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau; and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Szuchman, Chief of the Investigation Division. Senior Investigator Anthony Santoro and Trial Preparation Assistant Jonathan Behnken are assisting with the case.

District Attorney Vance thanked NYPD Police Officer Anthony Ciccatto and Sergeant Baqar Shah of the 17th Precinct, and Detective Isaac Branch of the Manhattan South Grand Larceny Squad for their work on the case.

[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.