Busyman
02-21-2006, 12:25 AM
I'm watching channel 7 news (WJLA) and I see a story about well....here it is. I found it on the web....
Indictment in Oprah Ticket 'Scam'
Monday February 20, 2006 4:08pm
Upper Marlboro, Md. (AP) - They thought they were going to see Oprah, but wound up going nowhere. Now, a Temple Hills man is under indictment on charges he stole money from elderly women who thought they'd get tickets to the popular talk show.
According to prosecutors, Terrance Hawkins ran companies known as "Royal Stages Travel Group" and "Royal Travel." He allegedly claimed to offer tickets to the "Oprah Winfrey Show," and a bus ride to Chicago, where the program is taped.
Officials say Hawkins charged $500 a head. With as many as 70 alleged victims, State's Attorney Glenn Ivey says Hawkins may have pocketed upward of $35,000.
Hawkins is now under indictment on 17 counts of theft. A conviction could bring 15 years behind bars.
I know this guy. I knew him as "Hawk" and played basketball against him a number of times. He had a fleet of buses and did trips to Atlantic City.
He's partially the reason I tore my ACL in my right knee (never surgered). I was checking him in a game (30 and over night about 9 years ago) and this real tall fella (about 6'9") on his team set a pick on me and my right knee twisted. I was taken away in an ambulance.
Many folk have used him for trips around here and he was a cool dude.
The story I saw on channel 7 said that ABC News was following him for A YEAR. They had hidden camera footage of him gambling in West Virginia while he owed teh ladies their money back. A number of officers arrested him at his apartment with cameras rolling and reporters in his face. They even showed him being confronted by the same reporter about a year ago. Today the reporter even said, "Mr. Hawkins, remember me?"
Damn shame.:(
Looks like I'ma hafta make some calls to the fellas to let them know the news. I was just playing against him early last year. He could jump out the gym and he was over 40.
Looks like he'll be going away for a long time. The story said he bilked over $35,000 with 70 victims.
Wtf was he thinking? He only repaid a small number of them back.
Indictment in Oprah Ticket 'Scam'
Monday February 20, 2006 4:08pm
Upper Marlboro, Md. (AP) - They thought they were going to see Oprah, but wound up going nowhere. Now, a Temple Hills man is under indictment on charges he stole money from elderly women who thought they'd get tickets to the popular talk show.
According to prosecutors, Terrance Hawkins ran companies known as "Royal Stages Travel Group" and "Royal Travel." He allegedly claimed to offer tickets to the "Oprah Winfrey Show," and a bus ride to Chicago, where the program is taped.
Officials say Hawkins charged $500 a head. With as many as 70 alleged victims, State's Attorney Glenn Ivey says Hawkins may have pocketed upward of $35,000.
Hawkins is now under indictment on 17 counts of theft. A conviction could bring 15 years behind bars.
I know this guy. I knew him as "Hawk" and played basketball against him a number of times. He had a fleet of buses and did trips to Atlantic City.
He's partially the reason I tore my ACL in my right knee (never surgered). I was checking him in a game (30 and over night about 9 years ago) and this real tall fella (about 6'9") on his team set a pick on me and my right knee twisted. I was taken away in an ambulance.
Many folk have used him for trips around here and he was a cool dude.
The story I saw on channel 7 said that ABC News was following him for A YEAR. They had hidden camera footage of him gambling in West Virginia while he owed teh ladies their money back. A number of officers arrested him at his apartment with cameras rolling and reporters in his face. They even showed him being confronted by the same reporter about a year ago. Today the reporter even said, "Mr. Hawkins, remember me?"
Damn shame.:(
Looks like I'ma hafta make some calls to the fellas to let them know the news. I was just playing against him early last year. He could jump out the gym and he was over 40.
Looks like he'll be going away for a long time. The story said he bilked over $35,000 with 70 victims.
Wtf was he thinking? He only repaid a small number of them back.