Mother and son sentenced in Ponzi scheme

LETHBRIDGE – A Lethbridge mother and son learned their sentences in court today, in relation to what the judge called “a sophisticated scheme.”

46-year-old Anthony Pittarelli received five years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution for his role in running Front Row Tickets.  Investors were promised a return on selling bulk tickets Pittarelli allegedly had access to, but the tickets didn’t exist.  Money from the new investors was used to pay previous investors who were also lied to.  Pittarelli’s mother, 66-year-old Marisa Pittarelli, was sentenced to two-years, less a day of house arrest, with multiple conditions on her sentence. 

Each plead guilty to seven counts of fraud over $5000, while Anthony Pittarelli also plead guilty to another unrelated charge of fraud over $5000.

Seven victims lost between $50 thousand and $500 thousand each, for a total of $1.3 million.

“It’s unfortunate that people have lost money,” said the Pittarelli’s lawyer, Balfour Der. “Somebody is going to jail now, and somebody else is, in essence, in jail at home so it’s not good any way you look at it.”