MILLERSBURG - State police are investigating a scam that uses a Millersburg man's identity as bait to sell fraudulent Super Bowl tickets on a popular online marketplace.
State police at Lykens are investigating identity theft involving a 58-year-old man from Millersburg, the victim of his whose name and story are being used to defraud those looking for tickets to Sunday's game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
According to police, the Millersburg man attended Super Bowl XLV in Dallas in 2011, when the temporary seats he purchased were condemned by local fire marshals.
The game was played at Cowboys Stadium and, according to CNN, stadium officials ran out of time to complete infrastructure-like railings and steps and to tighten risers on temporary seating areas that were added to boost attendance for the game.
The Millersburg man was one of 400 people affected, and his story was featured in a 2011 newspaper article.
As part of the National Football League's attempt to make up for the debacle, ticketholders were offered a choice of settlements - a refund of triple the face value of the tickets and free tickets to Super Bowl XLVI, or tickets to any future Super Bowl along with airfare and hotel accommodations.
Police believe the actor used this story and background to run the scam.
The scammer, posing as the Millersburg man, ran an ad on the Internet site craigslist trying to sell the tickets, but then doed not provide tickets after money is wired to the scammer.