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The organizer behind SantaCon, a Santa-themed crawl that raises money for local charities, is being charged with defrauding ticket-buyers and establishment owners.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, 50-year-old Stefan Pildes was arrested in New York and charged<\/a> with wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.<\/p>\n Prosecutors claim Pildes, who served as the president of and controlled the nonprofit entity that organizes the event called Participatory Safety, Inc. (\u201cPSI\u201d), diverted funds that were meant to go to charity to his own accounts.<\/p>\n Per the indictment, from November 2019 through April 2026, Pildes allegedly defrauded tens of thousands of participants who bought tickets to SantaCon.<\/p>\n \u201cAs alleged, Stefan Pildes promoted SantaCon as an event grounded in charitable giving, but instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,\u201d U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a press release.<\/p>\n \u201cHe took advantage of New Yorkers\u2019 generous holiday spirit to finance his lifestyle through personal expenses, big and small,” Clayton continued. “No matter how you dress it up, fraud is fraud. We are committed to protecting New Yorkers from those who exploit their enthusiasm and generosity.”<\/p>\n According to prosecutors, Pildes took most of the event’s earnings, which come primarily from selling tickets, as well as from establishments that host the event, for himself. The organizer promoted the event on SantaCon’s website, which explained that donations would be split between various charities. Contributions from establishments were categorized as a \u201ccharitable commission\u201d or \u201cdonation\u201d of around 10% and 25% of sales.<\/p>\n The complaint alleges that Pildes donations accrued from 2019 to 2024 added up to $2 million in ticket sales and over $675,000 in charitable commissions, but that Pildes used the money to fund his own luxurious lifestyle. It alleged he diverted funds to pay for renovations on his lakefront New Jersey property, vacations, a luxury vehicle, and more.<\/p>\n FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. said, \u201cStefan Pildes, the president of SantaCon, allegedly pocketed over half of the proceeds generated by his nonprofit to make personal purchases. Pildes allegedly stole Christmas from tens of thousands of victims and deprived local charities of more than one million dollars. The FBI continues to root out scrooges that greedily exploit the goodwill of New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n Interestingly, it’s not the first time SantaCon has raised eyebrows. A 2023 Gothamist investigation<\/a> revealed that from 2014 to 2022, less than a fifth of the event’s earnings went to charity. It also found that more than a third of the money went to people and groups connected to the annual Burning Man festival.<\/p>\n At the time, Pildes confirmed the expenditures, telling the outlet that the funds were part of a zero-interest loan which was repaid.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mission is to bring more art out into the world,\u201d Pildes said. \u201cI want to continue to see more creative outlets and opportunities and more people in costume and more cheer being spread.\u201d<\/p>\n