British make arrests in Beijing Games ticketing scam
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British authorities on Wednesday arrested four people during an ongoing investigation into a London-based online company that allegedly failed to deliver thousands of Beijing Games admission tickets to tourists around the world.
The company that was liquidated during a September bankruptcy proceeding allegedly operated online sales agencies that promised to deliver tickets to the Beijing Games Opening Ceremony and daily athletic events.
The average traveler spent between $2,000 and $4,000 on tickets that never were delivered, according to British authorities. Investigators said that the online company also had bilked consumers by promising to deliver tickets to music festivals in Europe.
The British Serious Fraud Office and the Metropolitan Police Services arrested four people in connection with the investigation into Xclusive Tickets Limited, Xclusive Leisure & Hospitality Limited and other related companies. Names of those arrested were not released. The four were released on ‘unconditional bail,’ according to authorities.
Here’s what Richard Alderman, director of the Serious Fraud Office had to say about the ongoing case:
People thinking of buying tickets on-line should be vigilant and always check the supplier’s credentials. In this particular case we know that many thousand consumers lost money and suffered disappointment that they could not attend events that many of them had spent years dreaming about and I urge those people who bought tickets through Xclusive to come forward with information.
The fraud investigators are asking travelers who were scammed by the Xclusive operation to fill out an online form.
Closer to home, the U.S. Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force has been talking to consumers who were scammed by online operators that promised to deliver Beijing Games tickets.
Authorities in British Columbia say they are taking steps to limit scam operations in advance of the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The U.S. ticket window for Vancouver Games admissions closed on Nov. 7. New Jersey-based CoSport, the only authorized ticket vendor in the country, will offer any remaining tickets for sale in February or March.
-- Greg Johnson