Ketan Shah was captured at the biggest casino on the West Coast, where he was gambling away his alleged victims' money.
A businessman allegedly behind a nearly million dollar Super Bowl scam is being held behind bars, thanks to a casino employee that recognized him after seeing him on Inside Edition.
Ketan Shah, 48, of Atlanta was captured at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, the largest casino on the West Coast about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
Shah was allegedly gambling with his victims’ money, including his mother’s, at the time of his arrest.
The casino worker said he recognized Shah’s face after seeing it on Inside Edition’s story on an alleged Super Bowl ticket scam on Monday and added that he became suspicious when Shah began purchasing expensive gifts with large amounts of cash for the woman he was with.
"I just felt really bad for these people who had given all their money to this man only for him to run away and take it, use it so I definitely had to say something, definitely had to do something," the employee said.
Shah is accused of selling Super Bowl tickets for $5,000 apiece and not delivering.
Jim and Jane Comerford told Inside Edition they shelled out $10,000 for two Super Bowl tickets. “This was an opportunity to go see Tom Brady live before he retires and before I die,” Jim said.
Alan Tartt and Stephen Bethea saved up to buy tickets to the game but said they were also scammed by Shah.
“Each ticket was $5,000 each and we bought four of them, so we spent a total of $20,000,” Tartt said. "We're thinking, this guy's legit, we checked his background, we saw that he owns a business."
“One of the victims in the case is his mother. One of them is a close friend he has had for many years,” Wilbert Rundles of the Gwinnett County Police Department told Inside Edition. “What has hit home with a lot of people is he's willing to do this to his own mother.”
His family suspected he "took the money and went to Las Vegas as part of a midlife crisis," according to a police report.
Shah reportedly disappeared with the cash Jan. 3. Since then, police said they have tracked him through Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, New Mexico Arizona, Nevada and California.
Shah is charged with one count of theft by conversion but police said they expect to file more charges following an investigation. He is currently being held in California and will be transported to Gwinnett County.
Anyone with more information is advised to contact Gwinnett County detectives at 770-513-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.
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