'Hamilton' Ticket Scam Lawsuit Moves Closer to Trial in New York

(Bloomberg) -- A lawsuit by investors who claim to have lost $1.5 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving the resale of tickets to events including the Broadway blockbuster "Hamilton" moved closer to a trial after a judge refused to dismiss the case.

Adam Blank, a former president of the Sleepy’s mattress company, claims Tripoint Global Equities, Tripoint Capital Advisors LLC and two executives didn’t investigate the scheme or would have been aware of red flags.

U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. on Friday allowed most of the case to go to trial, while dismissing some claims. According to the complaint in Manhattan federal court, Tripoint recommended the ticket-resale business as "the safest and most conservative investment." The deals were pitched as investments in discrete funds to buy tickets for specific shows, but getting into the more sought-after funds also required an investment in a non-specific “main fund,” according to the complaint.

Read the judge’s opinion here

Carter, who didn’t rule on the merits, said even if the plaintiffs were “sophisticated investors,” it was reasonable for them to rely on the advice of “an ostensibly trustworthy financial adviser."

A defense lawyer didn’t immediately return a call.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net

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