St. Pete man gets 10 years for concert ticket fraud
August 20, 2022 - A federal judge sentenced St. Petersburg resident Thomas Coelho to 10 years in prison Thursday after he pled guilty to stealing nearly $2 million in a concert ticket resale scheme. The judge also ordered him to pay over $1.8 million in restitution. According to prosecutors, Coelho continued to con victims after his first arrest in March. The sentence was well above federal guidelines but less than the 20-year maximum. The scheme involved convincing people he could score tickets to see high-profile artists like Adele, Fleetwood Mac and Phil Collins and then resell them for a profit. However, despite creating fake documents stating the contrary, Coelho never purchased the tickets.