How a scam with fake Miami Dolphins-Dallas Cowboys tickets ended at stadium, cops say

David J. Neal
·2 min read
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A scheme to get Miami Dolphins or Dallas Cowboys fans to give up something (cash) for nothing (fake tickets) ended with a no-name defense of undercover cops at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami-Dade police say.

Arrested before the kickoff of Sunday’s Dolphins’ 22-20 victory against the Cowboys were Michael Castro, 31, of Pembroke Pines and Shamarus Polycarpe, 34, and Marc Verna, 27, of Miami Gardens.

Castro and Polycarpe are charged with 16 counts of organized fraud, 16 counts of grand theft, and one count of unlawful use of a communications device. Both were released on $17,000 bond.

Verna has been charged with five counts of organized fraud, five counts of grand theft and five counts of unlawful use of a communications device. Verna has posted $75,000 bond.

Miami-Dade police’s Homeland Security and Priority Response teams learned about people at Hard Rock Stadium selling general admission tickets and suite tickets on OfferUp, an online marketplace designed for local buying and selling, according to the arrest report. Some of the Homeland Security Bureau folks bought suite tickets from Verna.

When the undercover officers met Verna, the arrest report reveals, he introduced them to Castro. Castro walked them to the stadium entrance manned by ticket taker Polycarpe.

Castro “pretended to scan fake tickets on his phone and [Polycarpe] allowed them to enter the stadium,” the arrest reports said.

All three were arrested. Castro took advantage of his right to remain silent, his arrest report said. The report notes Polycarpe and Verna talked with police.

Two people say they sent Verna $500 for two tickets in Section 245, well below market rate for a game as anticipated as the Christmas Eve showdown featuring two teams that have national followings.

Two rules for buying tickets in secondary market:

▪ If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

▪ Unless you know the seller personally, stick with the secondary market ticket sites that provide guarantees, such as Vivid Seats, StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster, etc.