A man accused of selling fake tickets to Saturday’s World Baseball Classic game at loanDepot Park was arrested, authorities said.
Hector Giral Hernandez, 42, was charged with organized scheme to defraud, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Bureau detectives in plain clothes were working at the stadium when the director of security told them about instances of fraud happening at several entrances.
An arrest report said a victim told law enforcement that they bought a ticket from Hernandez for the scheduled Venezuela vs Japan game, and when they tried to get into the stadium, they were told they had afake wrist band as a ticket and were denied entry.
During that incident, several people were also turned away by security guards at different entrances, the report said. The people who were turned away told detectives that they bought the wrist bands from a man who was walking around the outside of the stadium.
The victim, who was talking to authorities, then saw Hernandez and pointed him out to them, and he was detained, the report said.
When detectives spoke to Hernandez, the report said, he told them in Spanish that he was from New York and wanted to watch the game. He also told them that his friend said someone was selling tickets for $60-70 and didn’t know what happened.
Detectives said that Hernandez was engaging in an organized scheme to defraud people and the Marlins Organization, and he was arrested and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.