Man Allegedly Posing As LN Rep Arrested

An Ohio man was arrested for allegedly selling phony tickets to a March 17 Thomas Rhett concert in Huntington, W.Va.

Greg Allen / Invision / AP – Thomas Rhett
Times Square, New York City

Fans tried to get into the concert with tickets purchased from John Holstein, a man who has apparently been selling tickets to events in the region for years, while allegedly posing as a Live Nation representative.

“We [usually] gave our money to him a few days before [tickets] went on sale so we kind of just thought we were getting presale,” a former patron of Holstein’s, Jessalyn Parsons told WSAZ-TV. “Nothing seemed off about it. It seemed legit. We wouldn’t have dreamed that we would be in the situation that we’re at right now.”

Holstein was loitering in front of Big Sandy Superstore Arena the night of the show trying to sell tickets out of his jacket pocket, according to police. This night, a number of tickets failed to get the patrons into the arena, and Holstein later admitted to the police that he was selling fakes, although many victims claimed they had been getting into shows with his tickets for years.

Holstein sold approximately 50 tickets for $60 a pop, of which only a few failed to admit patrons into the venue, according to WSAZ. The counterfeiter’s operations reportedly extended to Charleston and Lexington, W.Va., as well as Columbus, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Representatives from Big Sandy Superstore Arena could not be reached for comment at press time.