IndyCar News: Man bilked 500 fans out of $150K in fake tickets

A central Indiana democrat, Fred Bear Jr., was accused of selling ‘fake Indianapolis 500 season passes’. Court documents allege that his actions cost IMS and Roger Penske over $150,000.

Court documents say the facility was allegedly forced to refund customers because the fake parking passes prevented real customers from parking and required them to be redirected.

“I don’t think anything like this allegation has happened before,” President of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Doug Boles said.

Sonja Hill of MDMH Bloominton writes that 54-year old Fred Dewey Bear Jr., has been taken into custody and faces the following charges:

• Two counts of Theft, a Level 5 Felony
• One count of counterfeiting, a Level 6 Felony

Court documents reveal that on March 14, 2023, authorities received a report of a man who visited a local printer shop with the intention of producing 200 Indy 500 parking passes. The printing company subsequently contacted the IMS ticket office regarding an individual who might be producing counterfeit passes.

Documents reveal that the fraudulent passes printed by Bear were subsequently resold by All Seats. Bear secured a total of $60,695 from his agreement with All Seats. Among the items available for purchase were Snake Pit Wristbands, Carb Day Wristbands, and Silver Badges.

Documents reveal that Bear managed to obtain fraudulent passes that appeared legitimate by leveraging an insider at IMS. A security guard served as the insider, and the two communicated through multiple calls and text messages.

In a message, the security guard remarked, “Hope you can earn some money at the Big 10.” Let’s schedule a meeting for next Tuesday so I can hand over your summer items. The guard indicated when he ought to sell certain items, as they were scheduled to be shipped out by IMS at varying times.

In a separate message to Bear’s mom, he shared a photo of the passes and remarked, “400 snake pit arm bands mom.” I hold the exclusive possession of these items, apart from the ticket office, which will not begin mailing them until March 27th. Unbelievable, right? His mom responded, “Awesome.”

The dialogue persisted: Bear: A total of 400 units were purchased for $10,700.00. If I manage to sell all of them for $75.00. That amounts to $30,000 in total.

Mom: It’s time for you to take action on that.

Bear: I’m unable to sell any of them until March, or my associate will face issues.
Mr. Bear sold items from IMS to All Seats for a total of $152,600.

Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, and StubHub have been identified as sellers of counterfeit IMS parking passes. A booth was spotted near the Indy 500 offering counterfeit passes for sale. Additionally, it has come to light that Bear might have deceived multiple other events in the region.

Last month, Bear was arrested on charges of theft and money laundering, both of which are felonies, related to defrauding Mays Chemicals. Court documents reveal that an arrangement was established whereby Mays Chemical would obtain the funds from the sale’s proceeds, after deducting a $10,000 commission.