Ballwin Man Darrin Landes Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Scheme

Darrin Landes of Ballwin, Missouri, stood before a federal judge and admitted to running a cold, calculated wire fraud scheme that preyed on sports fans eager for a front-row seat to some of the biggest events in American athletics. Landes pled guilty to one felony count of wire fraud in connection with a scam that spanned nearly a year, during which he collected payments for tickets he never intended to deliver.

From September 2015 to July 2016, Landes advertised tickets to high-profile events including the 2016 Kentucky Derby, the 2016 Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, and multiple St. Louis Cardinals games. He also dangled luxury accommodations at resorts and private homes — all lies. Often, he didn’t have the tickets at all. When he did, he tried to sell the same ticket to multiple buyers, ensuring at least one — often all — would be left empty-handed.

Landes communicated with victims through face-to-face meetings, emails, texts, and phone calls, negotiating prices and promising swift delivery. He directed payments to his PayPal account, to a purported business associate’s PayPal, or took cash in person. Once the money landed, the tickets vanished into thin air. When buyers pressed him, Landes fed them rehearsed excuses — delays, shipping issues, technical glitches — anything to buy more time while he spent their money.

No actual tickets changed hands. No hotel reservations were confirmed. Just false promises and stolen cash. The scheme unraveled as frustrated customers compared notes and alerted authorities. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kirkwood Police Department launched a joint investigation, tracing digital footprints and financial transactions back to Landes.

On the day of reckoning, Landes appeared before United States District Judge Rodney Sippel and entered a guilty plea. The charge of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000. While the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines will shape the final outcome, the math is simple: deception on this scale doesn’t come cheap.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2016. Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Franks is prosecuting the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. For the victims, the verdict won’t refund their losses — but it confirms what they already knew: Darrin Landes wasn’t selling tickets. He was selling lies.