Art Schlichter's Gambling Addiction

Former OSU Quarterback Investigated In Alleged Ticket Scheme

COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Former Ohio State University Quarterback Art Schlichter is being investigated for his alleged role in a ticket scheme, sources say.

NBC4 has learned that Art Schlichter is expected to meet with federal and state investigators in the coming days to talk about a sports ticket scheme that allegedly victimized dozens of people, who collectively lost more than $1 million.

Schlichter is the former standout quarterback for The Ohio State University, and whose promising NFL career collapsed under the weight of a gambling addiction. Compulsive gambling led to fraud and forgery convictions that sent him to more than 40 different prisons over an 11-year period of time.

Involved in the latest alleged scheme is the 68-year-old Anita Barney, of Dublin, who Schlichter apparently befriended after a speaking engagement two years ago. Her attorney Bill Loveland said, "She is a victim of Art Schlichter."

The attorney said Barney was persuaded to invest money in a ticket operation that she believed to be legitimate. But Schlichter allegedly continued to convince Barney that if she was ever to recoup her investment, she would have to invest more and more money. When she ran out, she apparently borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars -- sometimes from friends.

Court records sow more than a half-dozen claims have been filed against Barney, including a claim from car dealer Bud Hatfield, who invested nearly $30,000 with the promise of season tickets to Buckeye football games.

Barney has apparently made attempts to pay back some of the loans, but sources say, she will likely file bankruptcy.

Sources say Schlichter will face criminal charges, but Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien told NBC4 he could not comment and would not confirm that Schlichter is under investigation.

Fraudulent Super Bowl Tickets Help Former NFL QB Fund His Gambling Habit
Adam Fusfeld

Former Colts' quarterback Art Schlichter allegedly sold dozens of Super Bowl tickets he never possessed for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and gambled away the money, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

People who purchased those tickets are stranded in Dallas without any way into Cowboys Stadium.

Apparently, it was all part of the Ohio State All-American quarterback's larger scheme. The Dispatch reports Schlichter has been fraudulently presenting a plan to broker and sell Buckeye football tickets as an "investment opportunity" and used the millions he solicited to fund a sports gambling addiction.

One alleged victim of the scheme is Anita Barney. Schlichter came to know Barney through her son, Alan, who he visited in a Columbus hospital while quarterbacking Ohio State in 1980. Then 10, Alan was nursing numerous injuries after being the the lone survivor of a fatal plane crash. Over the years, Schlichter maintained a connection with the family and contacted Ms. Barney to "invest" in his scheme. Reports say the 68-year-old widow has had to borrow up to $200,000 just to stay afloat after losing money to Schlichter's scheme.

Since 1994, Schlichter has served time in 44 prisons mainly for fraudulent behavior connected to his gambling habit.

In the story Schlichter seems genuinely upset by his behavior, but is at the mercy of an addiction he can't control. Then again it's easy to sound upset after you've been caught.

Excerpt [worth reading in its entirety]:
Former Buckeye Schlichter suspect in probe
Money for tickets went to gambling, sources say
By Mike Wagner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter, already known as one of the nation's most-notorious compulsive gamblers, is the target of an investigation by local and federal authorities centering on a sports-ticket scheme that has swindled numerous people out of several million dollars, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter, already known as one of the nation's most-notorious compulsive gamblers, is the target of an investigation by local and federal authorities centering on a sports-ticket scheme that has swindled numerous people out of several million dollars, according to sources familiar with the matter.