Man Is Charged in Charity Fraud

Kristopher Schwoch told officials at Warner Bros., ABC and NBC that the free passes to movie premieres, TV tapings and studio tours they agreed to donate would benefit the StarCare Foundation, his charity for terminally ill children.

But instead of auctioning off the passes for the cause, police alleged Thursday, Schwoch instead went to the approximately 60 events himself, including February’s Oscar ceremonies.

Schwoch then posted more than 100 photographs on the foundation website, showing him smiling next to Hilary Duff, Jay Leno, Mike Myers, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler and dozens of other celebrities.

Police allege that he used the star-studded photos to lend legitimacy as he sold bogus tickets over the last two years to various Hollywood events -- at $500 to $5,000 apiece.

More than 100 unsuspecting customers who thought they were supporting a children’s charity bought them up, police said.

When the buyers arrived at will-call windows to collect their tickets, they were turned away because none were reserved for them.

Burbank police announced Thursday that Schwoch, 23, has been charged with five counts of felony burglary. He has pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody at a County Jail on $90,000 bail.

Neither Schwoch nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

Although the charges involve three entertainment companies, detectives are investigating reports that Schwoch also may have duped other big names, including Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures, said Lt. David Gabriel of the Burbank Police Department.

“His motive was to make a lot of money and be someone,” Gabriel said, noting the way Schwoch mugged with stars in the photos. “Of course, when you hobnob with stars, you are somebody.”

Schwoch was taken into custody March 23 during an elaborate sting operation on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.

Police, working with the studio’s security service, had lured him there with an invitation to the premiere of the Sandra Bullock movie “Miss Congeniality 2.” But when he arrived at the lot to pick up his tickets, police immediately arrested him.

Authorities said they were surprised by both the sophistication and boldness of the alleged scam.

Schwoch worked not out of Los Angeles but 1,750 miles away at his family’s home in Milwaukee.

Studio executives began hearing about the StarCare Foundation a little more than two years ago.

Authorities said Schwoch persistently called and e-mailed the entertainment companies to get tickets, which he said he would sell and then donate the proceeds to his charity.

Schwoch used the alias “Dan Witslib” when dealing with the companies. He even posted a fake biography of Witslib on the StarCare website along with a phony nonprofit tax identification number.

The entertainment firms responded, showering StarCare with invitations to movie premieres and other events. Detectives even found that Schwoch attended the Oscars, though they are not sure how he got an invitation.

Among the tapings Schwoch attended were the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” which he visited the night before his arrest.

At all the events, he was careful to document his encounters with celebrities. Although his website includes photos with A-list stars such as Bill Cosby, he also is seen with lesser-known names such as country musician Keith Urban, actress Kelly Preston and the casts of “7th Heaven” and “The Real World.”

Schwoch’s now defunct website contained several photo albums with hundreds of shots of him at Hollywood gatherings as well as at events in New York and elsewhere. Schwoch was seen with a smile his face, often with an arm around a celebrity.

All the while, police allege that he was selling bogus tickets online. Schwoch allegedly advertised the tickets on a legitimate entertainment website and told buyers that he ran a company called Tonight Live Productions. He then directed them to his own website to complete the transaction, police said.

Burbank police said Schwoch sold at least 100 tickets but perhaps as many as 400. He told buyers to pick them up at studio will-call booths. But when they arrived, they found no tickets in their names.

And this, detectives said, was the beginning of his downfall.

In December, one customer complained to police after she was turned away from the premiere of “Ocean’s Twelve” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Warner Bros. received another complaint in March from a customer who could not get into a different premiere.

That’s when Burbank police and Warner Bros. decided to launch the sting.

Detectives said they are searching for a second person shown in the photos, known only as “Bob.” They are not sure whether he was involved in the charity operation, but want to talk to him.

Police also are hoping that other victims will come forward.

At Warner Bros., officials were shaking their heads Thursday at the audacity of it all.

“The money isn’t so important,” said Scott Rowe, a spokesman for Warner Bros. “It’s that he was defrauding the public ... for a nonexistent charity.”