MISTRY:ARSENAL FAN TOUTED MATCH TICKETS WHEN HE LOST CITY JOB

An Arsenal fan who touted Premier League tickets when he lost his highly paid City job has been fined and stripped of his ill-gotten gains.

Hitesh Mistry, 48, put his profits from the five-month fraud towards his £25,000 a year bill for his children’s private education.

His conviction means he will never work again in finance and he is having to sell his family home to keep his kids at Alleyn’s in Dulwich, and Kings College in Wimbledon, Blackfriars Crown Court heard.

And his wife is now working full time to support the family following his redundancy in May 2008.

Season ticket holder Mistry peddled dozens of Arsenal FC tickets on two websites, Tickets for Football and Online Ticket Express, putting buyers at risk of being turned away at the Emirates gate.

The financial analyst was arrested on March 5 this year after two fans who had paid up to £230 each – several times the face value – to watch the club play Sunderland, were stopped by a steward.

They pointed out Mistry who was waiting nearby.

It emerged he had been using membership cards, which operate like Oyster travel cards, which he had applied for in the names of family and friends.

The cards were loaded up with tickets for games and sold for a profit, from October 29, 2010.

He had sold 20 tickets for that day and simply had to wait outside the ground to collect the used cards.

This broke club rules which state tickets cannot be sold to strangers or for above face value.

Stephen Pownall QC, defending Mistry, said his client was a genuine fan who started off legitimately buying tickets for family and friends.

When he found he had a surplus he advertised them for sale online so they would not go to waste, said the QC.

‘His initial motivation was not to make money at all,’ added the barrister.

‘It was to be in a position to help individuals to see Arsenal matches.

‘He does involve himself with young people who are interested in the sport.

‘I do not seek to assert his purpose was at all times wholly altruistic or charitable, but his profit is significantly less than the notional figure which has been identified.’

The court heard he was paid nearly £12,000 but Mistry claims just £3,000 of that is profit.

Judge Jane Sullivan fined him £1,500 and made a confiscation order in the sum of £11,916.70.

He faces being jailed for eight months if he defaults.

Passing sentence the judge said: ‘You are an Arsenal supporter but you also acquired a number of Red Club and Juniors memberships in the name of your family and friends, which enabled you to apply for tickets.

‘You then used two online ticket agencies to supply these tickets for you.

‘The reason you used them rather than returning tickets to the club was there was no guarantee the club would be able to sell the tickets.

‘I am told you didn’t make a large profit.

‘You accept that you acted dishonestly in selling tickets in this way because you knew that Arsenal was a premiership club and didn’t permit the transfer of tickets.

‘You say all you did was to expose purchasers to the risk they would not be allowed into the ground and the only loss was the commission the club would have earned had you returned the tickets to them.

‘You will be deprived of your involvement in footballl and cricket as a result of your criminal conviction today and your chances of getting a job in your sector are now non-existent.

‘You also have to sell your home in order to allow your children to remain at their respective schools.

‘All things considered, this is a case that can properly be dealt with by way of a financial penalty.’

Mistry, of (3) Abbeville Road, Clapham, sw London, admitted fraud.
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