Alleged reselling of Oktoberfest tickets has landed two people in hot water.
Waterloo Regional Police say they had heard multiple times over the past month that tickets were being sold over the Internet for excessive prices.
“Police responded to complaints from the Concordia Club about tickets being sold online, on Kijiji,” says police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel.
Concordia Club general manager Ruth Rajna tells CTV she saw tickets listed for as high as $70, well above the $27 face value for opening and closing nights.
After an investigation by the police service’s Oktoberfest unit, 30-year-old Lindsay McGough and 25-year-old Thomas Schertzer, both from Kitchener, were charged under the Ticket Speculation Act.
They face maximum fines of $5,000 each.
Police say they seized a large number of tickets from the pair, who were charged over separate incidents, but would not disclose the exact number of tickets seized.
Heinzel says it’s not just those looking to sell tickets above face value that need to be aware of the illegality of that activity.
“Individuals who buy tickets for a higher price and those who are selling them at a higher price could potentially face charges,” he says.
It's not the first time police have charged somebody for profiting off the sale of tickets to the festival.
In 2011, a 44-year-old Kitchener man was charged with trying to sell Oktoberfest tickets for $75.
