The purchase proceeded as planned, but the buyer became suspicious after discovering the tickets he had bought contained multiple mistakes in grammar and spelling, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune.



The buyer then contacted an official who works for the Orange Bowl, which will be played Jan. 1 in Miami between Northern Illinois University and Florida State University. The official confirmed that the tickets were fraudulent, and the buyer contacted police.



With help from the buyer, police officers arranged a sting operation in which Smith agreed to meet in a North Side bowling alley to sell two additional tickets. Smith attempted to the sell the tickets to a police officer and was arrested, according to the report.