Roslyn man facing charge in tickets scheme pleads guilty

Jason Nissen, the former math teacher from Long Island charged last year in connection with a $70 million Ponzi scheme that scammed investors in his high-end ticket brokering business, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.

Nissen, 45, of Roslyn, who had been seeking a plea agreement for months, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer. He faces up to 20 years in prison at his scheduled Aug. 21 sentencing.

“I know that my conduct was wrong and I wish to apologize to those who trusted me,” Nissen said during his plea.

Once fired by New York City schools after allegedly reselling tickets to his students, Nissen founded his ticket business in 2012 to try to buy blocks of hard-to-get tickets for events like the Broadway musical “Hamilton” and the Super Bowl before selling them at a profit.

Prosecutors said that while Nissen said it was a successful business, he raised money from a diamond dealer and a private equity firm to invest in tickets for resale, and then used the money to repay other investors and enrich himself.

In one recorded conversation, an executive at the diamond dealer accused Nissen of running a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors said.

“I guess you want to call it,” Nissen allegedly responded. “I was borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.”

“That’s the definition of a Ponzi,” the executive responded.

Nissen’s scam was linked to Jona Rechnitz, the star government witness in a sprawling federal probe of corruption in City Hall, the NYPD, and city unions.

Rechnitz testified at the trial last year of former prison guards union boss Norman Seabrook that he had helped Nissen raise money for his ticket business. But Rechnitz was not required to plead guilty to the alleged Nissen scam as part of his plea agreement.