Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Con artist denied bail on new ticket scam charges

A convicted con artist accused of scamming more online ticket buyers has lost her bid to be released from jail.

Anita Lorraine Abrey, 37, was arrested last month and charged with bilking people on four occasions from March 2008 to December 2011. Police said she promised tickets to events including a Kanye West concert in Toronto and NHL games in Winnipeg and Edmonton. Abrey is accused of using online classified advertisements for the fraud.

Abrey appeared in court Friday, seeking to be released on bail into a treatment program through the Elizabeth Fry Society, but provincial court Judge Tim Preston ruled she will remain in custody pending the outcome of her case. A court-ordered ban prevents publication of specifics of the hearing, including Preston’s reasons for decision.

The Free Press has obtained court documents showing Abrey is no stranger to the system. She has more than 40 previous fraud-related convictions and is currently awaiting sentencing on a handful of other cases that date back to 2008. They involve similar cases in which people across Canada paid for concert and hockey tickets only to realized they’d been duped.

Abrey pleaded guilty in 2010 to 11 charges but has yet to be sentenced. She is accused of skipping out on several previous court dates and was out on bail for those incidents when most of these latest offences allegedly occurred.

Winnipeg police have been increasingly vigilant since the return of the Winnipeg Jets when it comes to online ticket fraud.

No trial dates have been set for Abrey.

Comments are not accepted on this story because they might prejudice a case before the courts.

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