ATLANTA — She paid nearly $33,000 to watch Super Bowl LIII in person, but instead, Alison Echols watched it from her couch.
"There was also a hurt factor there, like, 'How could she do this to me?' I trusted her. She constantly told me she loved me," Echols told Channel 2 Action News.
Echols said one of her best friends scammed her, selling her 14 tickets that didn't exist.
“I was devastated. I was obviously concerned about the loss of money," she said. “It wasn’t until 10 days before the game that I discovered that this was all a complete scam.”
Echols told Channel 2's Justin Wilfon she bought Falcons tickets from her friend many times with no problems, but when it came time to pick up the Super Bowl tickets, it all went wrong.
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“We were supposed to meet at Starbucks and grab a coffee and make a day of it. And she stopped contacting me the day before," Echols said.
She gave Wilfon a copy of the report she filed with Gwinnett County police.
A department spokesperson said it’s an ongoing investigation, and it could be widening.
Echols believes there could be up to 20 victims.
“Up until Thursday and Friday before the Super Bowl, people (were) arriving in town looking for her.”
Gwinnett police confirmed that another police agency is conducting a separate investigation about the same suspect.
We are not naming her because she’s not yet charged, but Echols believes it’s only a matter of time.
“She will have handcuffs on, and she will see her day in court," she said.
Echols did file a fraud complaint with her bank to try to get some of that money back but it’s not clear yet if that’s going to happen.