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Police hunting for Whelan in ticket scalping case

By WTOP Staff

BRADLEY BROOKS
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A World Cup hospitality company director has been declared a fugitive by Brazilian police investigating a ticket scalping scheme.

Police have told The Associated Press the probe is set to expand to include FIFA and domestic football officials.

Investigator Fabio Barucke said Ray Whelan left the lavish Copacabana Palace through a service entry on Thursday about an hour before police arrived to re-arrest him.

Police accuse Whelan as being a main source of World Cup tickets that were sold to an Algerian national they label as the biggest scalper of tickets for the sport’s marquee tournament.

“He’s now considered a fugitive,” Barucke said outside the hotel. “We have security camera images of him exiting the hotel through a service door.”

Barucke told the AP in an exclusive interview late Wednesday night that police have 50,000 tapped phone calls made between suspected scalpers in Rio alone, beginning about four weeks before the World Cup began on June 12.

That figure included an estimated 900 calls between Whelan and Algerian national Lamine Fofana since the tournament kicked off.

Barucke said that virtually all of those calls referred to the sale of tickets in one form or another, the pair often arranging to meet at the Copacabana Palace where many FIFA officials are based.

“Raymond knew that Fofana was a scalper, he knew that he was going to resell those tickets on the black market,” Barucke said.

The investigator says he’ll soon receive several weeks’ worth of security camera tapes from inside the Copacabana Palace, which he said investigators already know was “a bazaar of tickets, it was a market for scalping.”

He said he’s confident his investigation will reveal that FIFA officials and authorities from Brazil’s national football confederation also funneled tickets to known scalpers, in return for a share of the illegal profits.

Fofana, Barucke said, was often spotted inside the hotel, “so we began to monitor his network inside of the Copacabana Palace, which is how we discovered that (Whelan) was a source of tickets for him.”

In an earlier detailed statement, the MATCH group denied any wrongdoing by Whelan, and said he was willing to cooperate with any investigation, confident that it would exonerate him of any wrongdoing.

Under Brazilian law, selling tickets for sporting events above face value is illegal. But it’s a crime that normally results in a fine of about $225 and no prison sentence.

However, Barucke said he has formally requested that a judge consider the actions of Whelan and at least 11 others already arrested in the alleged scalping scheme of having formed a criminal conspiracy — which could result in significant jail time.

That would “give a shot of adrenaline” to the police investigation, Barucke said.

The MATCH group, which owns rights to sell World Cup hospitality packages, has acknowledged that Whelan and Fofana discussed cash sales of final tickets for $25,000 in telephone calls wiretapped by Rio de Janeiro police — but say those were packages that included not just tickets but VIP services, hence the high price.

In a Thursday statement, Jaime Byrom, the executive chairman of MATCH Services and MATCH Hospitality, said that “notwithstanding our belief that the action taken against Mr. Whelan was illegal and baseless, MATCH Services and I personally remain totally committed to assist the authorities.”

Earlier this week, MATCH challenged police to justify the “arbitrary and illegal” arrest of Whelan, a director of MATCH’s accommodation service. He is a brother-in-law of company founders Jaime and Enrique Byrom.

On Monday, Whelan was detained at the Copacabana Palace by police who seized tickets for World Cup matches. He was released early Tuesday.

Brazil’s Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, asked at FIFA briefing on Thursday if he was insulted by MATCH’s statements implying police in Rio didn’t understand the ticketing business and had performed an illegal arrest, said that there was nothing to indicate “police acted on the margins, or above and beyond the law.”

“The judiciary has the role to correct any problems following the rule of law,” he said. “So I don’t know why this company says that the police performed an illegal act.”

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Associated Press writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this story.

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Follow Bradley Brooks on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bradleybrooks

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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