The Passaic County man who founded the New York City SantaCon has been freed from federal custody after posting $300,000 bond, court records show.
Stefan Pildes, of Hewitt, is charged with one count of wire fraud for keeping most of the $2.7 million he raised from 2019 through 2024, and spending it on concert tickets, fine dining, vacations and renovations to his New Jersey home, prosecutors have alleged.
SantaCon is a ticketed bar crawl that takes place every December in New York City with around 25,000 attendees dressing as Santa Claus and other holiday characters.
Court records show Pildes posted bond Wednesday using his home in the 600 block of Lakeshore Drive in Hewitt as security.
It’s the same home prosecutors allege he renovated using money that was earmarked for charity.
Under the terms of his bond agreement, Pildes may not travel beyond New York or New Jersey, may not access bank accounts associated with SantaCon and will have no involvement in the promotion or organizing of the event.
Pildes attorney, Jonathan Marvinny, of New York, declined to comment on the case Friday.