Alleged HK$6 million scam involving Blackpink, Mirror concert tickets sees Hong Kong women’s football club ex-director arrested
- Frankie Chow, former development director of 247 Football Club, is suspected to be involved in at least 33 concert ticket fraud cases
- Police say Chow told his victims, including fellow club members, that he could help source for concert tickets through internal presale
Hong Kong police have arrested an ex-development director at a local women’s football club for allegedly swindling more than 100 people out of HK$6 million (US$767,470) by claiming to have tickets to sell for concerts by K-pop girl group Blackpink, local boy band Mirror and singer Keung To.
Frankie Chow, the 36-year-old former development director of 247 Football Club, was suspected to be involved in at least 33 concert ticket fraud cases, Senior Inspector Lam Ho-lim of the Kwai Tsing police district said on Friday.
Officers arrested Chow at his residence in Fanling on Thursday afternoon, according to Lam.
“Once the suspect confirmed receipt of the funds, he would use different excuses to put off [sending the tickets] to the victims,” he told a press briefing.
“The man claimed he was able to secure tickets for various concerts exclusively through insiders from May 2023 to January of this year.”
Lam said that Chow told his victims, including his fellow club members, that he could help source concert tickets featuring those stars through internal presale, but his victims lost contact with him after making payments.
He noted that one victim lost HK$500,000 after being coaxed into purchasing tickets for a concert by Mirror. It was not immediately clear how many tickets were involved in this case.
Hong Kong police arrest alleged forger for selling tickets to Mirror concert
Other shows he promised to help his victims buy included those by local pop singer Sammi Cheng Sau-man and Cantopop duo Twins, according to Lam.
Lam said police received the first report on Tuesday and that they believed that Chow abused his position and connections at the club to gain the victims’ trust.
Chow resigned as the development director of the football club earlier this month, according to Lam.
He added that none of the victims received their concert tickets after making the payments and pointed to Chow as the mastermind of this case.
