May 16, 2014
Carson City, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced the arrest yesterday of Megan Klein, 39, of Carson City, in connection with fraud charges related to a 2013 scheme in which professional athletes were targeted for the sale of fictitious ownership interests in the NBA team, the Miami Heat, and for purchasing season tickets that did not exist.
“We were able to investigate and arrest Ms. Klein due to the collaboration between the Los Angeles Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and my office,” said Masto. “Klein was an accomplice to multiple theft and fraud charges. She will have to answer to a judge and face the consequences of her actions.”
She was booked into Washoe County Jail on a warrant charging her with obtaining and using personal identifying information of another for an unlawful purpose and five counts of forgery and theft. If convicted on all charges, Klein could face prison time.
Klein is accused of acting as an accomplice for George Jones, who was charged in Los Angeles in March with frauds including grand theft and identity theft offenses following an investigation by authorities in California. Klein told investigators she became associated with Jones after answering an on-line ad he posted looking for an assistant. Klein allegedly used two false identities to arrange the sales of fraudulent tickets. She communicated with victims between June 2013 and January 2014.
Klein is charged for defrauding a sports marketing agent and an attorney who wired Jones a combined $350,000 to his fictitious company bank accounts on the belief their professional athlete clients were going to purchase minority shares of the Miami Heat and/or 2013-14 season tickets in premium seating areas.
Federal, state and local police in California investigated Jones, after being tipped by the Miami Heat that Jones allegedly tried to sell team shares and season tickets to two men who represented high profile NBA and/or NFL athletes. California authorities then discovered Klein was allegedly involved in the scam and alerted investigators with the Nevada Attorney General’s Office.
California authorities said the victims never saw Jones or Klein in person, and only dealt with them on-line or on the telephone. Jones told investigators he routinely read a monthly magazine targeted for the wealthy to find possible victims. He then researched contact information for representatives of professional athletes featured in the magazine, and then sent them mass e-mails pitching his basketball-related scheme.
During the time Klein was allegedly involved in Jones’ scheme, she was being prosecuted in Reno by the Nevada Attorney General’s Office for an insurance fraud scheme.
The case will be prosecuted in Washoe County by Senior Deputy Attorney General Ronda Clifton of the Attorney General's Fraud Unit.
The Nevada Attorney General Office can assist identity theft victims with our Nevada Identity Theft Program, designed to assist victims in obtaining resources to recover from the crime. For more information call 1-877-213-5227 or send an e-mail to idtheft@ag.nv.gov.
| KLEIN, MEGAN |
 |
(Photo courtesy of Carson City Sheriff’s Office)
###