Facing a list of fraud charges, Todd Guthrie shoved his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans while standing in a Collingwood courtroom today and pleading guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000.
Guthrie, 46, whose case has been winding its way through court in Barrie, this time appeared in person in the prisoner’s box of a Collingwood courtroom wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a Guelph Storm logo on the left side of the chest, his beard shaved close to his face and his hair in a choppy, short cut.
He was accused of various schemes selling non-existent tickets to sporting events and concerts.
His accusers say the Collingwood man took their money and never produced tickets or a refund.
Justice Esther Rosenberg heard Guthrie’s guilty plea, led by his lawyer, Emily Dyer, and subsequently found him guilty of one count of fraud over $5,000.
Rosenberg withheld her sentence, putting the sentencing, the reading of the statement of facts and victim impact statements over to a March 25 hearing date in Collingwood.
Guthrie faced a list of charges for fraud under $5,000 and fraud over $5,000, but the Crown submitted the charges could be encapsulated in one count of fraud over $5,000, including incidents in Collingwood, Orillia and elsewhere in Ontario that took place between June 13 and Dec. 31, 2023.
Without the typical reading of the facts of the case, today’s court proceeding was brief. Guthrie answered a half-dozen yes-or-no questions confirming he understood the consequences of a guilty plea and delivered a simple “guilty” when asked to enter his plea.
Dyer explained the change in the case to a single count of fraud will become clear at the sentencing hearing, when the statement of facts is read out.
The criminal case remains a cautionary tale about the perils of the secondary ticket market in an interconnected world where almost everything can be done at one’s fingertips.
“The hardest thing was having to explain this to my daughter,” said Barrie resident Deanna McMillan, who went to school with Guthrie in Collingwood, where they both grew up. “She’s asked me, ‘How could someone you knew do that to you?’”
Unlike some cases where a seller takes money from one seller to pay off an earlier customer — a Ponzi scheme — Guthrie’s case seems to be largely straightforward: selling tickets he never had in his possession to sell.
“The biggest part for me was he was in my backyard promising to sell me (NHL All-Star Game) tickets, having a beer with me and my family,” McMillan said, a sense of betrayal still evident in her voice, even though it has been more than a year since she was ripped off by her former friend.
The betrayal was even more cutting for other victims. One person was taken advantage of as they grieved the death of their sibling.
A Barrie bar owner forwarded Guthrie almost $5,000 for Morgan Wallen and 2024 NHL All-Star Game tickets. None were delivered.
Dana Parris was hoping to treat her daughters to a show by the country music star and also fulfil contest winners from her establishment.
While certainly not happy, Parris is ready to move on, but says she won’t put herself in a position to be taken advantage of again.
“I’m over it,” she said. “I just feel so bad for people who lost much more money than me and had personal relationships with him.”
One of Guthrie’s alleged victims provided a series of text threads. The communications show a similar pattern: a promise of tickets, followed by a series of excuses, ranging from a failure for his own supplier to come through, to getting into a fender bender while on his way to physically deliver.
“His stories always seemed to line up,” said McMillan.
Before today, Guthrie had made a series of court appearances and was originally out on bail, but was picked up and put back in custody a few weeks ago.
His last court appearance was by video from the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene while in custody, when his case was put off until today.
The Crown had indicated in previous court appearances in Barrie that it was planning for a 10-day trial in the spring.
Guthrie’s case is one of a few alleged fraud cases from around Simcoe County involving selling tickets that never materialized.
Another Collingwood resident, Alison Glussich, was recently charged in relation to an alleged scheme to sell discounted airline tickets.
Glussich had earlier been the subject of a Village Media story before she was charged. None of the charges against Glussich have been tested in court.
Readers have also contacted Village Media regarding a ticketing scheme where mostly Toronto Maple Leafs tickets were promised, but not delivered. At least a handful of formal police reports have been filed against a Barrie resident, but there have yet to be any formal charges brought forward.
One alleged victim provided Village Media with a spreadsheet that details dozens of customers and totalling more than $250,000 of merchandise that was either not produced at all or not to the extent originally agreed upon. Included in that document are police report file numbers that give a clear indication that formal complaints have been filed with Barrie police.
