The organizer of SantaCon stands accused of stealing Christmas after federal prosecutors say he used proceeds meant for charity for his own benefit.
Stefan Pildes, a 50-year-old from Hewitt, New Jersey, was arrested in Manhattan and charged with one count of wire fraud, according to a statement by federal prosecutors.
According to a grand jury indictment, since 2019, Pildes has been diverting funds raised during SantaCon, a Christmas-themed bar crawl in New York City.
The annual December event sees over 25,000 attendees dress like Santa Claus and other Christmas-themed characters while drinking their way through the city. Last year’s beneficiaries included City Harvest, the City Parks Foundation, and the Children's Heart Foundation, according to the SantaCon website.
But a grand jury indictment alleges that Pildes took “more than half” of the money ostensibly raised for charity and put it in a slush fund that he used for “concert tickets, fine dining, luxury vacations, and home renovations.”
“Pildes allegedly stole Christmas from tens of thousands of victims and deprived local charities of more than one million dollars,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr.
SantaCon raised proceeds through both ticket sales and commissions from participating bars and restaurants on the bar crawl route, which could be up to 25 percent of sales during the event. The bar crawl reportedly earned $2.7 million between 2019 and 2024, but Pildes is accused of giving only a small percentage of that to charities.
“Instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “He took advantage of New Yorkers’ generous holiday spirit to finance his lifestyle through personal expenses, big and small.”
If convicted of wire fraud, Pildes faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Per The Daily News, he was released on $300,000 bond.
