Florida Man Arrested in $5,900 Super Bowl Ticket Scam

A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly duping a Hayward woman into paying $5,900 for Super Bowl tickets she never received, the Alameda County Sheriff's Department reported today.

The arrest of Robert Pham culminates a two-month investigation by the Sheriff's Department's property crimes unit.

Pham has been arrested for felony theft by false pretences under a warrant issued by Alameda County and served by police in Coral Springs, a city near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The victim of the scam was Hayward resident Sharon Osgood, a 49er faithful who responded to a craigslist ad in January from someone purporting to be a Baltimore Ravens fan with four tickets to the Super Bowl.

In a series of email, text messages and phone conversations, the scammer convinced Osgood that he was a Florida tax attorney who couldn’t make the game due to his wife’s pregnancy.

Osgood wired the agreed upon $5,900, but instead of getting four tickets she got a promotional flyer for the game with a note reading, “Go Ravens! LOL!” 

But Osgood may end up with the last laugh.

She and some friends already got to see the Super Bowl thanks to Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard and the 49'ers front office. When they heard about the scam they provided Osgood with five real tickets to the game in New Orleans, and also arranged for her group to breakfast with NFL legend Troy Aikman.

Just for good measure, Osgood filed a police report in hopes of recouping the $5,900 and catching the scammer.

Now, if Pham is found guilty, she could have her cake and eat it, too.

Do you believe in happy endings? If only the 49'ers had won!