A former University of Minnesota ticketing director has admitted in court to enriching himself through a long-running scheme involving football and men's hockey and basketball ticket orders.
Fired Gophers ticket director admits to long-running ticket-order scheme
December 10, 2018 at 12:56PM
Brent A. Holck, 37, of Maple Grove, pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Minneapolis to wire fraud for siphoning money from April 2012 to January 2017.
Neither Holck's attorney, Peter Wold, nor the U.S. Attorney's Office has revealed how much Holck took. The charging document stated that Holck received $1,500 from one fraudulent ticket transaction three years into the scheme.
Public records show Holck was earning more than $90,000 as of 2015 in base annual salary, overseeing sales to games, concerts and other campus events.
Holck was fired in February 2017 after the U's Office of Internal Audit discovered discrepancies in ticket transaction records. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said at the time that the FBI's investigation focused on an alleged "sophisticated scheme" dating to 2011.
The criminal complaint filed last month said Holck would locate completed sales in the ticketing system — often after an event had occurred — delete orders and have refunds issued to accounts he controlled. He also issued tickets and parking passes to personal or business acquaintances, who then sold those tickets and gave the majority of the proceeds to Holck.
In a statement issued when the scheme was first publicly disclosed by the university in June 2017, U officials said, "No fan lost a single dollar as a result of this activity."
Holck is scheduled to be sentenced May 6.
Holck's wife, Jessica Holck, was not under investigation and remains director of events for the Golden Gophers Fund.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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