Man facing fraud charge for selling fake Justin Bieber tickets

Coquitlam RCMP say they have tracked down one of the people who sold fake tickets to last Friday’s Justin Bieber concert in Vancouver.

The Mounties were alerted by a mother and daughter from the Okanagan who had paid $600, only to be told at the door that their tickets were counterfeit.

Investigators managed to track down a suspect – 38-year-old Giuseppe Farinella who was also known as ‘Joey’ or ‘Troy’. He is now facing charges including fraud.

Police have reason to believe that Farinella may have sold more fraudulent Justin Bieber tickets prior to the concert. Anyone who purchased fake tickets online from Giuseppe Farinella, is asked to call the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote police file number 2016-7605.

We want the public to be aware of the risks when purchasing tickets from online re-sellers and to take every precaution to ensure the tickets they buy are in fact real, said Cst. Jamie Phillipson of the Coquitlam RCMP.

Anyone can also arrange to meet at the Coquitlam RCMP station to purchase or sell tickets.

READ MORE: Brazilian girl also caught in ticket scam

Tips to get you to the show

• Purchase from an authorized ticket distributor or the box office. Tickets may be more expensive but that extra cost can guarantee the legitimacy of the sale.
• Before exchanging money, try to verify the ticket number through an authorized dealer.
• If you decide to meet with someone you don’t know to purchase tickets, do so in a public setting such as a shopping centre or a busy coffee shop.
• Never post a photo of your tickets online as someone could use that photo to print out duplicate tickets.