Malstrom
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KINGSTON — A man from West Wyoming is accused of swindling nearly $5,000 in an investment scheme involving concert ticket sales.
Police allege Steven Malstrom, 28, of 22 Fairview St., convinced a man to invest $25,000 into his concert promotion business. When the victim realized the investment was a scam, Malstrom allegedly withdrew $4,715 from the account, court records say.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Kingston police:
A man told police he met Malstrom at an office at 340 Market St. in June to discuss investing in concert promotions, notably purchasing concert tickets at wholesale prices and reselling the tickets at retail prices for profit.
The man told police Malstrom identified himself as Steven Malec and initially invested $5,000, earning a $3,000 profit for tickets sold to an Elton John concert.
Police said Malstrom offered the man another investment opportunity in August for a Jonas Brothers concert. The man gave Malstrom $5,000 but never received any return on the investment.
Malstrom contacted the man again offering a concert ticket investment but needed $25,000 immediately due to a tight deadline. The man sent $25,000 to a bank account number provided by Malstrom.
A few days after transferring the money, police said Wells Fargo Bank froze the account due to suspicious activity but not before Malstrom withdrew $4,715, the complaint says.
Police allege Malstrom set up the bank account the same day the man transferred $25,000.
Malstrom was arraigned by District Judge James Haggerty on charges of theft, criminal attempt to commit theft and criminal use of communication facility. He was released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
It’s not the first time Malstrom has been charged in a ponzi scheme.
Malstrom is currently facing charges of theft, deceptive business practices, criminal conspiracy and dealing in proceeds with intent to defraud filed by Wyoming police in November 2019.
Those charges allege he fostered a Wilkes-Barre woman into giving him nearly $80,000 to invest in cryptocurrency through a business called Crypto Pal, he co-owned with Hunter Smetana, 21, of West Wyoming.
Smetana is facing similar charges in district court.
Court records say Malstrom swindled three people out of nearly $25,000 to invest is a concert ticket service through Live Nation during 2016. One of the victims in 2016 learned Malstrom was not affiliated with the national ticket sales company. Charges filed in 2016 were by West Pittston police.
Efforts to reach Malstrom were not successful on Wednesday. A phone number to his business, Maelstrom Management & Entertainment, was not in service.