SantaCon organizer charged with stealing $1M from charity pub crawl

Prosecutors with the Southern District of New York accuse Stefan Pildes, 50, of diverting more than $1 million of the $2.7 million raised through SantaCon. The event, which draws around 25,000 participants dressed as Santa Claus and other holiday characters, was promoted as a charitable fundraiser.

Instead of donating the funds, Pildes allegedly used hundreds of thousands of dollars for personal ventures, including concert tickets, fine dining, luxury vacations, and home renovations. Specific allegations include spending $365,000 to renovate a lakefront property in New Jersey, $124,000 on a luxury Manhattan apartment, and nearly $3,000 on a birthday dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Prosecutors state that Pildes defrauded tens of thousands of people and small business owners who participated in the event between 2019 and April 2026. He faces one count of wire fraud, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.