If you’re hoping to get tickets to Thursday night’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals, there’s one guy you should probably avoid. His tickets for an earlier game weren’t real, but his prices were, according to police.
Cobb County resident Matthew Cubbage allegedly drove 700 miles to sell phony tickets to Game 4 of the NBA Finals. But after selling three fake tickets for $2,100, the 27-year-old was arrested outside Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, police said.
Cubbage sold three tickets to Friday night’s Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors game to a Pennsylvania man outside the arena, said Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia with Cleveland police. Robert Williams told police he negotiated with Cubbage before agreeing to pay $700 each for the tickets, Ciaccia said.
Before Williams walked away, he took a time-stamped picture of Cubbage. It was that picture that helped officers find Cubbage, who had more fake tickets to sell prior to tip-off, police said.
Williams and two others weren’t allowed into the arena because the tickets were fake. But an off-duty Cleveland officer working at the arena was nearby, and Williams shared the picture of the man who sold him the tickets and provided his description, Ciaccia said. The officer shared the photo with other officers in the area who spotted Cubbage.
“Anyone need tickets?” Cubbage allegedly said as a plain-clothes officer walked by.
Cubbage, who had nine additional fake tickets, claimed he bought the tickets for $275 each and believed they were real, according to police. He was charged with trademark counterfeiting and theft by deception.
On Monday, Cubbage waived his first court appearance and his case was bound over to the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said. Bond was set at $25,000 for Cubbage.
Back in Georgia, Cubbage has an extensive criminal history that includes serving twice in state prison, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Cubbage was incarcerated from March 2007 until December 2009 and again from July 2011 until November 2013, when he was released from Wilcox State Prison. His prior convictions include theft by taking, entering vehicle, burglary, credit card theft and identity fraud, records showed.
The Cavaliers beat the Warriors in Monday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The series returns to Cleveland for Game 6 on Thursday at 9 p.m.
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