TicketManager Statement on Concierge Live Sale
June 26, 2017
TicketManager was recently contacted by Timothy Puopolo, the Chief Restructuring Officer (“CRO”) of National Events Holdings, LLC (“NEH”) (which is in bankruptcy in New York court), about the sale of a 40% equity stake in Concierge Live, one of our competitors in the ticket and event management space. Puoppolo has served as CRO for NEH since May 11, 2017; he is a Member of RAS Management Advisors, LLC (“RAS”), which is a turnaround and crisis management firm. Jason Nissen was the CEO of NEH until May 10, 2017. As Puopolo states in his declaration filed in bankruptcy court: “The Debtors [NEH] learned of Nissen’s fraudulent activities on or about May 10, 2017. Nissen was terminated on that date and on May 11, 2017, the Board of Managers of the Debtor [NEH] retained RAS to provide my services as CRO.” See http://omnimgt.com/CMSVol2/pub_47189/631348_7.pdf.
As Puopolo affirms under oath in his declaration: “On May 31, 2017, Jason Nissen (“Nissen”), the former chief executive officer of the Debtor [NEH], was arrested and charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the “FBI”) with allegedly defrauding victims of at least $70 million through what the FBI characterized as a Ponzi scheme. According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Complaint”), Nissen “represented to victims that he would use money lent to him and his companies by victims to purchase bulk quantities of premium tickets to sporting and entertainment events…However…Nissen used the victims’ money in large part to repay other victims and enrich himself.””
The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (the US Department of Justice) has also issued a press release on the investigation and charges filed against Nissen: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ceo-and-president-premium-ticket-resale-business-charged-engaging-multimillion-dollar. This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit, and Assistant United States Attorneys Kan M. Nawaday, Lauren B. Schorr, and Russell Capone are in charge of the prosecution. The Press Release reveals many details of the investigation and alleged scheme, including that Nissen admitted to certain victims that he forged financial documents. The release states: “When asked how he had done so, NISSEN replied: “Photoshop. Ever hear of it?””
IQ Magazine has also reported that 2 investors are suing Nissen and eight of his companies, alleging that he generated more than “$120mm through a ponzi scheme in which investors were promised “impossibly high returns” on resold tickets for events….” See: https://www.iq-mag.net/2017/06/jason-nissen-assets-seized-ponzi-scheme/#.WVF33-srLbh. This article quotes the plaintiffs’ lawyers Morrison Cohen as saying: “the ‘returns’ on the ticket sales were illusory, financed by cash infusions from new investors who were told their money would be used to purchase tickets for resale.”
Puopolo expressly asked us whether we were interested in acquiring the 40% stake in Concierge Live. We believe that he is trying to raise money for NEH – the company he now works for, that is in bankruptcy – through liquidating this stake in Concierge Live. We expressly told Puopolo that we are not now and have never been interested in buying any equity in Concierge Live – we are not interested in owning any entity with which Jason Nissen is or has been affiliated. There are rumors to the contrary, but these are the facts.
The team at TicketManager works hard every day serving our customers, teammates, and local communities with honesty and integrity.
TicketManager will celebrate our tenth anniversary this September and, despite these unfortunate events, the event and ticket management community is stronger than ever. We will work together with our partners at teams, ticketing companies, and technology providers to build on this momentum and provide scalable, affordable, and trustworthy technology and services as live events evolve with the world around us.
Please direct any questions to Ken Hanscom, Chief Operating Officer at TicketManager: [email protected]
Please call (877) 423-4868 with any questions. We are happy to talk live.
