SantaCon organizer charged for allegedly spending charity money on personal expenses
Federal prosecutors arrested the organizer of New York City's controversial SantaCon bar crawl Wednesday after they say he allegedly kept a lot of the holiday joy for himself.
Stefan Pildes, 50, is facing federal wire fraud charges that accuse him of siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable funds for his own use, including for concert tickets and vacations.
SantaCon is an event held annually in December in which thousands of attendees dress as Santa Claus and other holiday characters and travel to bars and restaurants throughout the day.
The event is billed as "a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy" that charges attendees tickets that cost between $10 and $20, the indictment said.
"When one Attendee, for example, asked what she would receive for purchasing a ticket, the SantaCon Email responded, in part, 'your donation goes to charity and it is only a few bucks and that good feeling will warm your heart faster than whiskey and gingerbread,'" the indictment said.
But of nearly $3 million Pildes raised since 2019, he allegedly diverted more than half to an entity he used as a slush fund, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutors allege Pildes used the money for personal expenses, including $365,000 to renovate a lakefront property in New Jersey, $124,000 toward the lease of a "luxury Manhattan apartment," a "$100,000 investment in a boutique resort in Costa Rica founded by a personal friend," and a nearly $3,000 birthday dinner, the indictment said.
He is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Pildes pleaded not guilty and was released on $300,000 bail on Wednesday afternoon.
He is allowed no contact with any of the organizers of Santa Con, the judge said.
The government is working on a plan to notify victims of his alleged fraud, prosecutors said.
The bar crawl has become a controversial event in Manhattan with complaints from local leaders and residents accusing some intoxicated Santa-dressed revelers of causing disturbances during the day.
New York police have issued several summonses and made some arrests at past SantaCons.
-ABC News' Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
