A half-dozen individuals intentionally diverted thousands of basketball and football tickets for personal profit, according to a University of Kansas report released today.
Five KU athletics staff members and a consultant sold or used at least 17,609 men's basketball game tickets and 2,181 football game tickets as well as a number of parking passes and Arrowhead Club passes for personal purposes, the report said.
Forensic accountants calculated the value of the ticket losses at a total of about $1.03 million spread out over five years — from 2005-2010 — with indications that the diversions began years earlier.
Because the six individuals made efforts to hide their actions, and the university's investigators lack subpoena power, the accountants think it's likely the losses could be in the range of $1 million to $3 million.
KU officials emphasized in a news conference that they would take legal action to recover the money lost.
"There were many victims of this activity: Our fans, donors, alumni, Kansas Athletics and the university as a whole," said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. "We sincerely regret the distress that this situation has caused our loyal fans and any loss of confidence that may have resulted."
Jack Focht, the attorney who led the investigation, said he wouldn’t be surprised if the federal investigation discovers a much larger loss than the university investigation detected. But he said he would be surprised if other employees were found to be involved.
The 60-day independent investigation named the six, none of whom it said remain as employees or contractors for Kansas Athletics.
Read more of this story at KansasCity.com