WFAN/New York Morning Co-Host Craig Carton Arrested On Federal Charges Of Running A Ponzi Scheme

Craig Carton

CBS RADIO Sports WFAN-A-F/NEW YORK “BOOMER AND CARTON” co-host CRAIG CARTON was arrested at his home WEDNESDAY morning on charges that he and associates defrauded investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

The allegation in the criminal case says that CARTON, MICHAEL WRIGHT, and another individual (identified only as “CC-1”) took millions from investors by telling them that the money would buy blocks of tickets to concerts to then be re-sold on the secondary market. CARTON and CC-1 allegedly represented that they had access to blocks of tickets due to agreements that CC-1 and CARTON had with promoters, but the deals did not exist and CARTON, WRIGHT, and CC-1 allegedly misappropriated the funds to, among other things, pay personal debts and repay prior investors in a Ponzi-like scheme.

THE NEW YORK POST is reporting that CARTON and business partner JOSEPH MELI have also been sued by the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION in a lawsuit alleging the same Ponzi scheme following CARTON allegedly running up millions of dollars of gambling debt. The POST reports that in an email sent to MELI and another person on SEPTEMBER 7, 2016, CARTON said he was "around $3 M in the whole (sic)” and that he had “risked and lost $700 (meaning $700,000) of investor money” and owed $825,000 "ASAP" and $500,000 on SEPTEMBER 12th to two casinos.

In the SEC suit, CARTON and MELI, along with their companies ADVANCE ENTERTAINMENT LLC, ADVANCEM LTD., MISOLUKI INC., MISOLUKI LLC, TICKET JONES LLC, and TIER ONE TICKETS LLC, were alleged to have misappropriated at least $3.6 million to repay CARTON's gambling debts and pay back earlier investors, and CARTON is alleged to have stolen an additional $2 million "by tricking a concert venue into forwarding an investor’s money into a bank account belonging to one of CARTON’s companies."  MELI was charged by the SEC earlier this year of operating another Ponzi scheme involving tickets to the BROADWAY hit "HAMILTON."

“As alleged in our complaint, investors were lured with promises of big profits from resales of A-list concert tickets, but little did they know their money was being used to cover CARTON’s gambling debts among other things,” said SEC BOSTON Regional Office Director PAUL LEVENSON.

CARTON and WRIGHT each face one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud; the conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. They also face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, for the securities fraud count, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense for the wire fraud count.

"We are aware of the situation and are cooperating with authorities," said a CBS RADIO spokesperson.  Meanwhile, co-host BOOMER ESIASON did not initially refer to the arrest when speaking of CARTON's absence WEDNESDAY morning, but joked about CARTON texting that he was “under the weather” and adding that when listeners hear ESIASON rather than CARTON starting the show, "that means numb nuts is under the weather and he’s not here. And basically what will be the longest week."  But before the show was done, ESIASON said, according to BLOOMBERG's report, “I thought he called in sick this morning, but unfortunately my partner was arrested.  I guess there’ll be more news to come from somewhere, but it won’t come from me because I don’t have any.”

Acting MANHATTAN U.S. Attorney JOON H. KIM said, “As alleged, CRAIG CARTON and MICHAEL WRIGHT deceived investors and raised millions of dollars through misrepresentation and outright lies. Their schemes were allegedly propped up by phony contracts with two companies to purchase blocks of concert tickets, when in fact, CARTON and WRIGHT had no deals to purchase any tickets at all. As alleged, behind all the talk, the WRIGHT and CARSON show was just a sham, designed to fleece investors out of millions ultimately to be spent on payments to casinos and to pay off other personal debt.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge WILLIAM F. SWEENEY JR. said: “CARTON and WRIGHT thought they could get off easy by allegedly paying off their debts with other people’s money. They then attempted to pay off investors with money that would eventually become future debt, as alleged. We see this time and time again, the rise and fall of a Ponzi scheme destined for failure. The truth is, the time will come when your luck runs out. Unfortunately for those arrested today, that time is now.”

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