Georgia man sold $1.3M in fake Taylor Swift, UGA, Masters tickets

An Alpharetta man is accused of selling more than $1 million worth of fake Masters Tournament, University of Georgia football and concert tickets to dozens of people across the state, authorities said.

Matthew Timothy Neet, 42, was booked into the Jones County Jail last week after he allegedly swindled at least 30 people in Georgia who believed they were purchasing legitimate tickets that totaled more than $1.3 million, according to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office. Neet typically advertised the tickets online, deputies said.

“The problem is those tickets never existed,” the sheriff’s office said. “Upon further investigation into Mr. Neet, it was revealed this isn’t his first scam.”

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Neet was charged with theft by conversion after being extradited from Louisiana, where he allegedly sold fake tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, an investigator told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In October, the singer performed at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans during her Eras Tour.

According to deputies, Neet also has holds pending from several other law enforcement agencies.

In August, an arrest warrant from Gwinnett County police accused Neet of “deceptively” selling $7,200 of Masters tickets he didn’t have to Blue Frog LLC, a general contractor in Suwanee. The alleged theft happened in February before the famed tournament in Augusta.

While the investigator said he had reports of scams dating to 2013, Neet allegedly started selling fake football tickets to all UGA home and away games in August 2023.

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In June, Neet is accused of selling $4,700 worth of fake UGA tickets to an athletic trainer in Gray, according to an arrest warrant from the sheriff’s office. The investigator said Neet agreed to get the trainer season tickets and tickets to the Clemson, Alabama and Texas games, but the victim never received them.

According to the sheriff’s office, Neet is also accused of brokering fake land deals in the Atlanta area.

He was denied bond due to the holds from other agencies and his risk for additional felonies, authorities said.

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