September 29, 2014
Carson City, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez
Masto announced that Megan Klein, 39, of Carson City, plead guilty to identity
theft 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 counterfeit season
tickets.
“My office collaborated with Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate and arrest Ms. Klein,” said
Masto. “It is because of this partnership that we were able to stop this
scam and protect consumers’ interests.”
Klein pled guilty to obtaining and using personal identifying information of
another person for an unlawful purpose or identity theft, a Category B felony.
Klein faces one to twenty years in prison.
Klein was found to be an accomplice for George Jones, who was charged in Los
Angeles with fraud including grand theft and identity theft offenses following
an investigation by Calif. authorities. 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 in premium seating areas. She was also charged
with defrauding sports marketing agent and an attorney, who wired a combined
$350,000 to Jones’ bank accounts to purchase shares of the Miami Heat on behalf
of professional athlete clients. Klein communicated with victims between
June 2013 and January 2014.
To read more on the investigation and collaboration with LAPD and the FBI,
read the May 16
press release on the arrest of Klein.
The case is being prosecuted in Carson City by Senior Deputy Attorney General
Ronda Clifton of the Attorney General's Fraud Unit.
The Nevada Attorney General Office can assist victims of
identity theft though the Nevada Identity Theft Program. For more information
visit our website or
call 1-877-213-5227.
|
KLEIN, MEGAN |
 |
(Photo courtesy of Carson City Sheriff’s Office)
###