NYC judge in SantaCon fraud case admits how she feels about notorious pub crawl
Federal Judge Colleen McMahon, presiding over the SantaCon fraud case, expressed her disdain for the annual bar crawl during a court hearing. Stefan Pildes, the event's founder, is accused of diverting over $1 million in ticket sales meant for charity to fund personal luxuries. Pildes has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer argues that participants received the experience they expected.
- ▪Judge Colleen McMahon stated she is not a fan of SantaCon and described it as an assault on New Yorkers.
- ▪Prosecutors allege Stefan Pildes skimmed more than half of $2.7 million raised from ticket sales between 2019 and 2024, diverting it to personal expenses.
- ▪Pildes is accused of spending the funds on a luxury Manhattan apartment lease, a Costa Rican resort, and renovations to a New Jersey property.
- ▪The event was advertised as a charitable nonprofit, with ticket proceeds supposedly going to worthy causes.
- ▪Pildes pleaded not guilty to wire fraud charges and is scheduled to return to court on September 15.
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Metro NYC judge in SantaCon fraud case admits how she feels about notorious pub crawl By Ben Kochman Published April 28, 2026, 6:06 p.m. ET The Manhattan judge overseeing the fraud case involving SantaCon’s founder is no fan of the notoriously boozy Christmas season bar crawl. “Like anyone in New York, I am assaulted by SantaCon,” federal Judge Colleen McMahon said during a hearing for Stefan Pildes, who prosecutors say skimmed more than a million dollars from the event’s ticket sales that had been earmarked for charity — and instead went to fund his luxury vacations, a high-end car and other extravagances. 3 Manhattan federal Judge Colleen McMahon said Tuesday she is not a fan of SantaCon.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at New York Post.
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