Craig Carton has resigned from WFAN one week after being arrested by the FBI and charged with running a fake-ticket scheme.
The popular sportstalk personality bilked investors out of millions of dollars, according to the feds.
Read the “Boomer & Carton” radio host’s full statement on his decision to walk away below.
For 10 years I’ve had the great privilege of showing up to work every day at my dream job. I have nothing but love and respect for my co-host, the show and the entire CBS Radio family and I’ve always tried to represent them in the best possible light.
Unfortunately, the unfounded legal issues currently plaguing me will only be a distraction to everyone at WFAN and the show I helped build. With that in mind, I have submitted my resignation to the station and they accepted. I am sad to see this chapter of my life close but know that it will allow me to focus on my family, my well-being and clearing my name, while giving the show the best opportunity to succeed without further disruption.
I’ve always felt a personal connection to our listeners and want to thank them for making me a part of their daily routine. I hope they can respect the fact that as much as I want to talk about the allegations against me I can’t at this time. There will come a time when I will be able to speak directly about the case and I hope our listeners will be there.
From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank my family, friends, listeners and especially the executives at WFAN and CBS Radio for their continued understanding and for giving me the most amazing platform to do what I love to do the most, besides being with my family.
Carton and partner Michael Wright told investors that they had access to discounted blocks of tickets to sporting and music events, which they could turn around and sell for a profit, per the FBI. However, that access never actually existed and written agreements provided to investors were fraudulent. The millions raised were “misappropriated” and used in part to “pay personal debts and repay prior investors as part of a Ponzi-like scheme,” per the agency.
Carton and Wright have been charged with securities fraud and wire fraud.
The conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The securities fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
“As alleged, Craig Carton and Michael Wright deceived investors and raised millions of dollars through misrepresentation and outright lies,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said in a DOJ filing. “Their schemes were allegedly propped up by phony contracts with two companies to purchase blocks of concert tickets, when in fact, Carton and Wright had no deals to purchase any tickets at all. As alleged, behind all the talk, the Wright and Carson show was just a sham, designed to fleece investors out of millions ultimately to be spent on payments to casinos and to pay off other personal debt.”
“Carton and Wright thought they could get off easy by allegedly paying off their debts with other people’s money,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. added. “They then attempted to pay off investors with money that would eventually become future debt, as alleged. We see this time and time again, the rise and fall of a Ponzi scheme destined for failure. The truth is, the time will come when your luck runs out. Unfortunately for those arrested today, that time is now.”
The married father of four, Carton (pictured above, right) has co-hosted New York City’s 660 AM sportstalk show with former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason (above, left) since September 2007. Carton started his career in Buffalo in the early 1990s.