\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe FTC<\/a> has filed a lawsuit against a ticket broker operation, alleging they used \u201cillegal means\u201d to make millions scalping tickets for an array of events and concerts, including Taylor Swift\u2019s Eras Tour<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe complaint accuses the Maryland-based ticket broker Key Investment Group of violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act)<\/a> by circumventing Ticketmaster\u2019s security measures to purchase more tickets than the allotted limit. These tickets, the FTC alleges, were then resold on secondary ticketing websites (including Ticketmaster\u2019s own resale platform) often at \u201ca significant markup to consumers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAlong with Key Investment Group, the complaint names several affiliated companies, including Epic Seats, TotalTickets.com LLC, and Totally Tix LLC. Key Investment Group\u2019s CEO, Yair D. Rozmaryn, CFO, Elan N. Rozmaryn, and Chief Strategic Officer, Taylor Kurth, were also named in the complaint.<\/p>\n \n\tThe complaint alleges that between Nov. 1, 2022 and Dec. 30, 2023, the defendants bought at least 379,776 tickets for approximately $57 million. A portion was allegedly resold on secondary marketplaces for approximately $64 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tTo scoop up all those tickets, the FTC alleges that the defendants used \u201cthousands of fictitious Ticketmaster accounts, thousands of virtual and traditional credit card numbers, proxy or spoofed IP addresses, and SIM banks to bypass or otherwise avoid security measures, access control systems, or other technological controls or measures on Ticketmaster\u2019s websites that would have otherwise blocked or prevented them from violating Ticketmaster\u2019s posted ticket purchase limits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tFor instance, the FTC claims that in 2023, the defendants purchased 2,280 tickets across all 38 dates of Swift\u2019s Eras Tour (which had a six-ticket limit per person). They paid $744,970.29 for these tickets, then re-sold them for $1,961,980.65 to net $1,217,010.36. The complaint also alleges that the defendants used 277 different accounts to purchase 1,530 tickets to Bruce Springsteen<\/a>\u2019s Sept. 1, 2023 show at MetLife Stadium (which had a four-ticket limit), making over $20,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n