Collingwood man faces charges in NHL All-Star ticket scam

Posters reading 'Todd the Fraud Scamming People for Money Claiming to Sell NHL All-Star Tickets' with a picture of Todd Guthrie are on display across the Town of Collingwood.

Guthrie, a 44-year-old Collingwood man, faces roughly a dozen counts of fraud in criminal courts in Bracebridge, Collingwood and Barrie and made a brief court appearance on Wednesday following the latest allegation against him of fraud under $5,000 for an alleged bogus deal over the summer.

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Dana Parris said she is among those who fell for his alleged scam after he reached out to her on Facebook.

"It's this All-Star package. It's a VIP experience; you get to go on the ice, you get to go to brunch with the players, and I thought, what a great experience," the Barrie woman said, adding she had met Guthrie a few years ago when he was a customer at her Barrie sports bar.

Parris said she gave Guthrie money for several tickets, and afterwards, he offered her Morgan Wallen concert tickets at a great price.

'Todd the Fraud' posters are on display around the Town of Collingwood, Ont., on Wed., Jan. 3, 2024. (Supplied)

Parris claims to have given Guthrie $5,300 for NHL and concert tickets she never saw.

"At the end of the day, the business suffered a loss for this money I put out, and I'm still sick about it," she said.

Court documents reveal a list of his accusers, who said they were ripped off of thousands of dollars amid promises of great deals on NHL All-Star or concert tickets.

"He's just an ass. He hurt a lot of people," Parris said. "It's a lot of people, and none of us will ever see our money back."

It's alleged Guthrie defrauded those who came forward of roughly $70,000.

One woman who said she met him online alleges she gave him more than $50,000, which is believed to have fed his gambling addiction.

"Once we realized that we all got frauded, then everybody started coming together," Parris said. "My $5,300 is nothing compared to what some other people put in, which is really sad. And it was people who went to high school with him that knew him for 30 years. We feel really dumb, but he was really good at what he did."

The allegations against Todd Guthrie have not been tested in court.

He is scheduled to answer to the charges next week in Collingwood and in Bracebridge next month.