SantaCon founder nabbed for spending charity donations on lavish NYC life-style, holidays

He’s on the naughty checklist!

The founding father of the Christmas season bar crawl SantaCon was arrested Wednesday for wire fraud fees — for allegedly swiping lots of of hundreds of {dollars} earmarked for charity.

Stefan Pildes allegedly put the “con” in SantaCon by blowing the dough on expensive holidays to Hawaii and Las Vegas, together with extravagant meals and a high-end automotive, in line with a federal indictment.

He additionally spent roughly $124,000 of the money on leasing a luxurious condo in Manhattan, and one other $100,000 on a boutique resort in Costa Rica, in line with the indictment, unsealed within the Southern District of New York courtroom.

“Pildes promoted SantaCon as an event grounded in charitable giving, but instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game,” US Attorney Jay Clayton mentioned in a press launch.

“He took advantage of New Yorkers’ generous holiday spirit to finance his lifestyle through personal expenses, big and small. No matter how you dress it up, fraud is fraud. We are committed to protecting New Yorkers from those who exploit their enthusiasm and generosity.”

Pildes “donated only a small fraction” of the $2.7 million raised from SantaCon to charity, in line with the indictment in opposition to him.