Ticket scheme investigated

A Columbia County investigator said Thursday that he plans to present evidence to the district attorney on an investment scheme that involved tickets to the Masters Tournament and other sporting events.

Rodney Wade Grubbs, 39, of the 1400 block of Aylesbury Drive, faces charges of theft by deception and forgery. He is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center on a $150,000 bond, according to jail records.

Columbia County sheriff's Investigator Shawn Merzlak said Mr. Grubbs is accused of bilking three investors out of more than $500,000, starting in January 2008. Mr. Grubbs told investors he would use their money to purchase hotel rooms and tickets to concerts and sporting events, including the Super Bowl, the Ryder Cup, the Masters Tournament and the Kentucky Derby.

"I found no evidence the monies were expended how he stated they would be," Investigator Merzlak said at a Feb. 24 preliminary hearing in Columbia County Magistrate Court.

Mr. Grubbs claimed to have third-party buyers for the packages and funds.

"Basically, they were investing in him because he was promising he could buy these tickets or hotel rooms for a certain price and then sell them for a higher price to a third party," Investigator Merzlak said. Then Mr. Grubbs would "return the initial investment plus some profit. But what the investigation is uncovering is that those investments that he received he actually returned to previous investors or previous people he had (borrowed) money from."

Mr. Grubbs was charged Feb. 9 with forgery and four counts of theft by deception for incidents involving Bo Banks. Mr. Banks said at the Feb. 24 hearing that he knew Mr. Grubbs for about three years and that they had business successes, from which he received promised returns.

"It was a good return. Too good to be true," Mr. Banks said, adding that he started receiving shorted returns and bounced checks from Mr. Grubbs in 2008. "It was a lot of bad checks, a lot of empty promises."

Since Mr. Grubbs' arrest, Investigator Merzlak said, four more possible victims have come forward.

Earlier this month Mr. Grubbs was charged with two more counts of forgery for producing false contracts from buyers and three counts of theft by deception, involving two of those victims. In all, he faces eight counts of theft by deception and three counts of forgery.