Two men were accused on Friday of bilking millions of dollars from investors with a Ponzi scheme built on a false promise to buy and resell tickets to high-profile events like the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” the federal authorities said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a complaint filed in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, said the men, Joseph Meli and Matthew Harriton, had raised about $81 million from at least 125 investors in 13 states who were told their money was being pooled to buy large blocks of tickets to be resold for a profit.

Instead, the complaint says, Mr. Meli and Mr. Harriton used about $51 million of the money raised to repay investors, “perpetuating the illusion of a profitable, ongoing investment.”

Mr. Meli, 42, and Mr. Harriton, 52, also used the scheme to enrich themselves, the S.E.C. said in a news release, spending almost $2 million on personal expenses, including jewelry, private school and camp tuition and casino payments.