Federal Bureau of Investigation eyes Minnesota ticket sales records after manager firing

The FBI is investigating Minnesota's athletic ticketing operation at the school's request after an audit uncovered what the university alleges was a "sophisticated" fraud scheme, WCCO reported Thursday.

Former Gophers Assistant Athletics Director, Sales and Service Brent Holck was sacked in February after an internal audit discovered some tickets to Gophers athletics events were reported as unused even when they were distributed.

"Audit initiated an investigation into the matter that revealed a sophisticated scheme where tickets reported as unused and not paid for were, in fact, distributed and used".

It's important to note, this activity did not have any direct financial impact on fans.

An FBI spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Minnesota went on to fire the ticket office operator immediately after their internal discovery.

The university referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who is investigating, Coyle confirmed in his statement.

The U hired Holck in 2008 and paid him a salary of $94,003.

It will be interesting to see what the Federal Bureau of Investigation findings reveal, but if any wrongdoing is discovered, Holck could be facing jail time.

The Gophers officially announced on May 26 the hiring of assistant athletic director Ryan Dillon to fill Holck's role.