Academy sets up scalper sting

Two companies busted for selling Oscar tickets

By JANET SHPRINTZ

Academy members know that tickets to the Oscars are priceless. But if you could sell the stuff of dreams, just what would they fetch?

A jaw-dropping $85,000 in hard cash, according to a lawsuit filed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences last week.

The Academy is suing two companies, Red Baron Records and Millionaire’s Concierge, for selling Oscar ducats without authorization.

The Academy set up a sting operation during which an investigator was able to purchase two tickets to the Oscars from Millionaire's Concierge for $23,000 apiece.

The sale even promised a personal touch: "My contact will be right there to hold your hand," the investigator was told.

Red Baron, through an Australian company, managed to sell five Academy Awards tickets for $85,000 per ticket. Three of the them, according to the complaint, went to people in Denmark.

Very rich folks from Denmark were not the only trespassers, however. Two people made it into the Oscars with tickets purchased on Craig's List for the relative bargain price of $2,500 apiece.

For security reasons, transfer of Oscar tickets is strictly forbidden.

The suit for trespass seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of the money received for the tickets and punitive damages.