Former MMA Uncensored host Craig Carton arrested on federal fraud charges
Craig Carton, a well-known New York sports radio talk show host who’d previously hosted an MMA program on Spike, is in major trouble with the law.
Popular New York sports radio talk show host Craig Carton was arrested on Wednesday morning for allegedly scamming investors out of millions of dollars to cover his mounting gambling debts, according to federal authorities.
New York Daily News has the details on the charges Carton is facing.
The motor-mouthed Carton turned to crime after running up millions of dollars in losses with two casinos, plus a debt of $825,000 to an unidentified individual, court papers charged.
Carton and co-defendant Michael Wright were both charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. The two could face a maximum of 45 years in prison and fines running into millions of dollars.
“Behind all the talk, the Carton and Wright show was just a sham, designed to fleece investors out of millions ultimately to be spend on payments to casinos and ... other personal debt,” said U.S. Attorney Joon Kim.
Carton currently co-hosts the “Boomer & Carton Show” on WFAN-AM, and was previously the host of MMA Uncensored, which aired on Spike in 2012 and was canceled in early 2013 to make way for Bellator MMA.
Boomer & Carton is also nationally simulcast on CBS Sports Network, and there’s video former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason announcing his longtime co-host’s arrest live on-air, having previously assumed he called in sick at the top of the program.
Esiason is not accused of any wrongdoing, for the record.
Getting back to the misdeeds of Carton:
Carton allegedly lured investors into a fraudulent ticket resale business, promising to deliver face-value tickets to concerts by stars like Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Metallica and Barbra Streisand.
“In reality, no such agreements with the concert promoter or venue existed, and the signatures for the concert promoter or venue,” the SEC charged.
At the time, Carton had “accrued millions of dollars worth of gambling-related debts to casinos and other third parties,” court papers indicated.
Some of the money scammed from investors was used to repay other investors in what prosecutors described as “a Ponzi-like scheme.”
Well that’s definitely not good.
How about we take a trip down memory lane and remember Carton’s days on MMA Uncensored? Here’s a video of the often-controversial Carton discussing the viability of women’s MMA with co-hosts Nate Quarry and Mike Straka.