A man faked his own abduction and robbery because he couldn't pay the $50,000 he owed in a Super Bowl pool, New York State Police said. The Associated Press reports 60-year-old of Robert Brandel of North Tonawanda, New York, was found tied up in his pickup truck Monday.
State troopers discovered the truck in a parking lot about 30 miles north of Buffalo. Brandel told them that two men involved in his "Super Bowl squares" pool robbed him of $16,000. He said the men drove him around for two whole days and then left him tied up in his truck.
(Robert Brandel told officers two men tied him up and were driving around with him in the back of his truck for days. NEW YORK STATE POLICE)
Investigators later determined Brandel entered some fake names in his $50,000 squares pool for the Super Bowl. His hope was to take home most of the winnings, police said. Instead, Brandel ended up short and owed a huge chunk of money.
It seems Brandel dug himself into an even deeper whole by concocting the scheme to fake his own kidnapping. Not only does he owe $50,000 to his Super Bowl pool, but he is now charged with fraud and falsely reporting an incident. It couldn't be determined if he has a lawyer to comment, the AP reports.
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