Alleged movie ticket scammer to stand trial
A man accused of scamming major film studios out of movie premiere
tickets was ordered to stand trial Wednesday, despite his attorney’s
claim that the studios give such tickets away for free.
Burbank Superior Court Judge Zaven Sinanian found there was enough
evidence against Kristopher Schwoch to have his case go to trial.
Peter Vance, Schwoch’s attorney, argued that the charges of grand
theft against the 24-year-old Milwaukee man should be reduced to
petty theft charges because no evidence had been given as to the cost
of the tickets Schwoch allegedly scammed from Warner Bros. Studio and
Sony Pictures, or for a tour of the set of the television show
“Seventh Heaven.”
“It’s pure supposition at this point of what these tickets are
worth,” Vance said. “It’s just guessing. Its value may be to the
people who purchase them and not the studios.”
Deputy District Atty. Susan Navas countered that since Schwoch
told the studios that the tickets had been auctioned off for amounts
ranging from $3,500 to $10,000, that shows their worth.
“This is not grand theft of personal property so the loss is
determined by a different way,” Navas said. “These are priceless
because they are not available to the public.”
A grand theft is one in which the value of the property taken is
$400 or greater.
Schwoch allegedly obtained the tickets by claiming to the studios
they would be auctioned off to benefit the StarCare Foundation, a
fake charity for terminally ill children. Schwoch used the tickets
for himself instead.
Schwoch was arrested in March when he came to Warner Bros. to pick
up a ticket to the premiere of “Miss Congeniality 2.” He is out on
bond and scheduled to appear in Pasadena Superior Court Oct. 20. He
faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison, if convicted.
Schwoch posed as “Dan Witslib,” who requested tickets from
publicists and special event coordinators for Sony, Warner Bros., the
American Film Institute and “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” promising that
they would be auctioned off by the StarCare Foundation, Burbank
Police Det. Wallace Schilling said.
Schwoch used his real name when he picked up tickets at theater
will call windows for the premieres, Schilling said. He was
unsuccessful in getting tickets for a premiere of “Meet the Fockers”
through the American Film Institute because a check he sent was
written on a closed account, Schilling said.
In an interview after his arrest, Schwoch said he had learned how
to do his scam from a website, Schilling said.
“He set up a fraudulent website and created the pseudonym of Dan
Witslib and requested tickets to all the premieres he could find,”
Schilling said.
Schwoch also advertised the tickets for sale on a website on which
he told buyers their tickets would be waiting at a will call window
at the venue, where the event was taking place, Schilling said.
Three people who had bought the tickets off the website found that
their names were not on the will call list, Schilling said.
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