SantaCon Promoter Indicted for Diverting Proceeds to Personal Use
U.S. authorities unsealed an indictment charging Stefan Pildes, president of SantaCon’s nonprofit PSI, with one count of wire fraud for allegedly diverting millions raised at SantaCon—more than half of proceeds from 2019–2024—into a private entity and for personal use, despite portraying the event as charitable; SantaCon drew about 25,000 attendees and involved host venues paying commissions; the case, assigned to Judge Colleen McMahon in SDNY, carries up to 20 years in prison.