GREEN BAY - A former Wisconsin
man accused of illegally selling Green Bay Packers tickets
— and failing to come up with tickets fans thought they
bought — has agreed to state sanctions, including no
longer using the same Internet Web site, officials said
Wednesday.
Ben Huettl, 29, formerly of
New London and now of Woodbury, Minn., was accused of
attempting to scam at least eight fans, including a woman
from Marshfield who ordered 16 tickets for the team's
final regular season game at Lambeau Field last season but
didn't get them.
The state Department of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said Esther
Miller reported she ordered the tickets in September and
paid by credit card via Huettl's Web site -
www.lambeau-tickets.com.
Miller told investigators
she paid $145 per ticket, which was billed on her credit
card, but the tickets never arrived.
Huettl never replied to
phone calls and e-mails in the weeks leading up to the
game, she said.
"My husband and I have
been ordering tickets for 15 years to come up for weekends
and games and stuff," Miller said Wednesday. "It
was not being able to communicate with him two weeks prior
to the game. ... I should be able to talk to somebody. I
should be able to leave a nasty message or something.
Huettl eventually e-mailed
Miller in the days before the game, telling her that her
credit card had been flagged as a fraud risk and the order
canceled.
"In fact, there was no
problem with the customers' transactions and this
statement was untrue in all respects," according to
the state order signed by Huettl. It alleged he wanted to
sell the tickets at a higher price closer to the game day.
The tickets for the game
with Detroit had been selling for more than $300 each the
week before the game.
Huettl was not prosecuted
criminally in part because he refunded Miller's money,
although it was only a day before the game, said
Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen said.
The Millers and 14 friends
managed to get tickets when a local broker gave them a
break on the price, Miller said.
The state agency's order
signed Tuesday required Huettl not to use the Web site and
not to sell tickets or receive payments for them unless he
has the tickets in his possession.
Nilsestuen said the order
can carry fines of up to $10,000 if violated.
The "lambeau-tickets.com"
domain name was transferred to NFL Properties.
Lambeau Field has been an
official sellout for Packers games since 1960, and the
team does not handle ticket sales beyond season ticket
holders and specialty club seats, according to the team's
ticket director Mark Wagner said.
Packers Fan Tours, based in
Ashwaubenon, is the team's official tour company broker.
Wagner urged that people
learn who they are buying tickets from, whether over the
Internet or in the parking lot outside the game, because
fraud and counterfeit tickets are a "huge
problem" throughout the NFL.
Nilsestuen encouraged
people to deal with brokers in the National Association of
Ticket Brokers, a trade group that sets standards for its
members.
No listing for Huettl could
be found when The Associated Press tried to reach him for
comment Wednesday night.