WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A former fundraiser for the University of Kansas athletic program admitted Thursday he participated in a $2 million ticket scam.
Ben Kirtland, 54, who resigned in April as the university's associate athletic director for development, pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud, The Kansas City Star reported. He had been working for the university since 2004.
Kirtland's plea wraps up the criminal case.
Four people have already pleaded guilty to the ticket scam, including the former head of the ticket office and her husband, who worked for the athletics department as a consultant, and two to failing to report the fraud.
Investigators say the group sold tickets under the table for five years, cheating the university of $2 million.
Kirtland, who had been scheduled to go on trial in March, will be sentenced March 12. He faces up to 20 years in prison although the actual sentence is likely to be much shorter.
"Ben has today publicly admitted his guilt and deeply regrets his unlawful acts as well as the embarrassment his acts have brought to his family and to the University of Kansas," his lawyer, Robin Fowler, said in a statement after the hearing.
