Alpharetta man sentenced to prison for real estate, UGA football ticket scam, officials say

An Alpharetta man will spend years in prison after prosecutors say he scammed real estate investors and University of Georgia fans looking for tickets to Bulldogs football games.

Matthew Neet was found guilty of a federal wire fraud charge and was sentenced to four years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, court documents reveal.

According to officials, Neet had offered investors what they thought was the chance to invest in property in places such as Costa Rica. At the same time, he was also offering to sell tickets to UGA football games against the Universities of Alabama, Texas, and Mississippi.

Investigators say two dozen individuals paid Neet around $943,000 for the tickets and so-called investments. Instead of using the money like he told his victims he would, prosecutors say Neet used a large amount of the funds to pay his own expenses.

Neet was arraigned on the federal charge in December 2025.

"Unfortunately, scammers may seek to exploit the rich history and tradition of college football for quick cash. And, as always, investors should be wary of too-good-to-be-true wealth-building opportunities," U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said at the time of the arraignment.

Along with the prison sentence, Neet was also ordered to pay $948,104.91 to his victims in restitution.