One of the side avenues in the Fahrenthold blockbuster, which seems to provide good evidence Trump is evading taxes, is the name: Richard Ebers. In recent years, most of the money going into the Trump Foundation has come from Ebers – nearly $1.9 million in total. So if taxes are being evaded, most of it is on money paid to the Foundation by Ebers.

So who is Richard Ebers? He’s basically a high-end ticket scalper.

Fahrenthold describes him as “sought-after tickets and one-of-a-kind experiences to wealthy clients.” But as the Times explains in this 2011 profile of Ebers is so much more dazzling and colorful. You may go to Stubhub to get a ticket you really want. But if you want the best box seat in the stadium for the Jets game or seats right behind home plate to watch the Yankees or just the absolute best of anything, you go to Richard Ebers. And that would be “you” if you’re a high ranking exec at Goldman or Citibank or just anywhere else where you have the money to drop on extremely expensive experiences.

Here’s a taste from the Times piece …

Mr. Ebers sells tickets to all the elite events: the World Series, Daytona 500, Triple Crown horse races, Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the four golf majors, the Olympics. He does rugby in England, the Cricket World Cup, the Westminster dog show, the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. All the New York games and any out-of-town game a customer wants. Plays, operas, ballets, “American Idol.” Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z. Among the more than 90,000 people attending the Super Bowl on Sunday in Arlington, Tex., 136 of them got their seats from Mr. Ebers, paying $2,250 to $9,500. The Ticket Man counts 6,000 clients, 500 of whom are his core; a big-spending individual might buy 250 seats a year, a company 1,500. These are people who can afford the best in the house: heads of hedge funds and real estate companies, successful lawyers. Mr. Ebers sells to Goldman Sachs, Chase, Barclays, Morgan Stanley. Of the many maxims by which he operates, perhaps the most vital is one a longtime customer conveyed: “I never want my competitor sitting in front of me.” If a client asks, the Ticket Man will arrange hotel reservations, restaurant bookings, party invitations and celebrity meet-and-greets, whereby clients can duck backstage and shake hands with Lady Gaga for a nanosecond.

Ebers seems like he has a fun job and is probably a pretty fun to spend some time with. But according to Fahrenthold’s piece, Ebers bought almost $1.9 million in “bought goods and services — including tickets — from Trump or his businesses.”

Now, what would those be exactly? I’d imagine that Trump and his businesses have various luxury boxes at sports venues, tickets to various games and events. Is Trump really hawking these to Ebers on the side to bring in a little extra cash? Or is he selling Ebers choice golf rounds at Trump properties that Ebers resells? God forbid, is he selling special golf rounds and luxury experiences with celebrity tycoon Donald Trump?

Let’s be clear. Separate from the tax issues on the other side of the equation there’s nothing illegal or untoward about this. But is Trump really so hard up that he’s making a little extra cash on the side selling the box seats on a week he’s not in town or selling Ebers the free tickets to this or that event that frequently come the way of a uber-wealthy celebrity types like Trump?

From the looks of it, lots of moguls buy from Ebers. It’s hard to believe many men or women, purporting to be billionaires, actually have a side business like this going with Ebers? I mean, does Trump sell knock off wrist watches out of service entrance at the back of Trump Tower too?

The tax evasion is one thing. But this is a detail, which in addition to the color, gives a pretty good indication that Trump isn’t remotely as rich as he claims to be.