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Four members of a Texas family have been charged over a scheme to fraudulently obtain Masters Tournament tickets.



According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Stephen Michael Freeman, of Katy, Texas, is charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and his parents, Steven Lee Freeman and Diane Freeman, of Helotes, Texas, and sister, Christine Oliverson, of San Antonio, each are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.



According to court documents, the four used names and addresses from a purchased bulk mailing list to create fraudulent accounts in Augusta National Golf Club's online ticket application system. All this occurred without the knowledge or permission of those whose identities were used, the release states. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the family tried to obtain tickets to tournaments between 2013 and 2018.



If any of those names were chosen to receive Masters tickets and the defendants were notified via the email addresses provided for them, Stephen Michael Freeman would create fake identification documents to persuade Augusta National to change the winner's mailing address to one that was under control of the conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Once the defendants were mailed the tickets, they would resell the tickets at a substantial profit, the release states.



"The Masters is one of the world's great sporting events, and tickets to the tournament are cherished by their fortunate recipients," said Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine. "Using fraud and deceit to circumvent the Augusta National's generous lottery system is despicable, and those who follow the rules in hopes of winning tickets deserve better than to have their chances diminished by profiteering con artists."



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