The Federal Trade Commission said it has sued a ticket reseller that it alleges bypassed Ticketmaster's policies to purchase hundreds of tickets only to resell them at a massive profit.
The FTC has accused Maryland-based ticket broker Key Investment Group of using a variety of tactics "to bypass security measures implemented by Ticketmaster to block resellers from violating ticket purchasing limits." In its lawsuit, the FTC said that Key Investment Group used thousands of virtual and traditional credit card numbers, spoofed IP addresses, and created thousands of Ticketmaster accounts in order to gain access to tickets for sought-after events.
For Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour," Key Investment Group allegedly used dozens of different accounts to purchase 2,280 tickets. The FTC said Key Investment Group paid $744,970.29 for these tickets and resold them for $1,961,980.65, netting $1,217,010.36 in profit.
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In just one concert, Key Investment Group used 49 different accounts to purchase 273 tickets, resulting in a profit of over $119,000.
It also allegedly netted $20,900 in revenue by purchasing tickets for Bruce Springsteen's tour when tickets went on sale September 1, 2023.
The FTC said it conducted business under the names Epic Seats, TotalTickets.com LLC, and Totally Tix LLC.
A federal judge is being asked to impose a civil penalty against the company for violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2016. The act prohibits companies from circumventing control measures used by online ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster.
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In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order urging the FTC to "rigorously enforce" the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.
“President Trump made it clear in his March executive order that unscrupulous middlemen who harm fans and jack up prices through anticompetitive methods will hear from us,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. “Today’s action puts brokers on notice that the Trump-Vance FTC will police operations that unlawfully circumvent ticket sellers’ purchase limits, ensuring that consumers have an opportunity to buy tickets at fair prices.”
