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Iowa woman pleads guilty in Super Bowl ticket scam

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July 29th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa woman has pleaded guilty to duping dozens of people into buying nonexistent tickets to the Super Bowl and other big events. Federal court records say Ranae Van Roekel, of Boyden, entered her pleas Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. Her charges: mail and income tax fraud.

Prosecutors say Van Roekel was a self-employed ticket broker who ran the business Get ’em Now Tickets from January 2008 to June 2012. Victims say she falsely claimed to have personal relationships and ties to events that gave her an inside track for deeply discounted tickets, hotel rooms and VIP passes.

Her sentencing date hasn’t been set. Prosecutors say she faces up to 20 years on the mail fraud conviction and up to eight years on the tax conviction.