Craig Carton of WFAN’s morning sports-radio talk show “Boomer & Carton” was arrested by the FBI Wednesday morning and is accused of running a “Ponzi-like scheme.”
Both Carton and Joseph Meli got investors to give them millions by saying the money would be used to buy tickets to concerts and then re-sold, according to release from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Carton and Meli were supposed to have connections to entertainment companies that would give them access to buy a large number of tickets. However, they had no actual agreement and instead used the money to pay “personal debts and repay prior investors as part of a Ponzi-like scheme,” among other things, t he Department of Justice said in a release.
The New York Times reported that CBS Radio, which owns WFAN, suspended Carton following the arrest, pending an investigation.
Carton was using some of the money to pay off gambling debts, according to the SEC.
The United States Department of Justice announced the arrest Wednesday and said that Carton, along with Michel Wright, was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit those crimes. Meli and Carton are facing charges from the SEC and Meli was also charged separately for an unrelated Ponzi scheme involving Hamilton tickets earlier this year.