SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been imprisoned for duping dozens of people into buying nonexistent tickets to the Super Bowl and other big events.
The Sioux City Journal reports that Ranae Van Roekel, of Boyden, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to 51 months. The judge also ordered her to pay nearly $468,000 in restitution. Van Roekel had pleaded guilty to mail and income tax fraud.
Prosecutors say Van Roekel was a self-employed ticket broker who ran the business Get ‘em Now Tickets from January 2008 to June 2012. Victims say she falsely claimed to have personal relationships and ties to events that gave her an inside track for deeply discounted tickets, hotel rooms and VIP passes.