FTC Settles with Ticket Broker Elite Events Over BOTS Act Violations
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with Georgia‑based ticket broker Elite Events, operating as smartscalpers.com, for alleged violations of the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act. The agency says Elite Events used overseas workers, fake email addresses, virtual credit cards and proxy servers to bypass Ticketmaster and AXS purchase limits and amassed more than 100,000 tickets for concerts by Tate McRae, Megan Moroney, Benson Boone and Metallica between 2022 and 2024. The civil complaint described shortages that forced fans to turn to secondary markets at double or triple face‑value prices. The settlement calls for a $10.7 million penalty, but the FTC will accept a $300,000 payment because the company lacks sufficient assets. FTC Director Christopher Mufarrige said consumers should be able to buy tickets without interference from bad actors.
Entities: Christopher Mufarrige · Elite Events · Federal Trade Commission · Megan Moroney · Tate McRae
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Elite Events used overseas workers, fake email addresses, virtual credit cards and proxy servers to bypass ticket purchase limits. (FTC civil complaint)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The alleged scalping caused ticket shortages, leading to sell‑outs and resale at two‑ to three‑times the original price. (FTC civil complaint)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Elite Events operates the resale website smartscalpers.com. (FTC civil complaint)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The settlement calls for a $10.7 million penalty, reduced to $300,000 due to Elite Events' lack of financial resources. (FTC settlement terms)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Elite Events allegedly purchased more than 100,000 concert tickets between 2022 and 2024. (FTC civil complaint)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The FTC settled with Elite Events over alleged violations of the BOTS Act. (FTC settlement announcement)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Tickets were bought for concerts by Tate McRae, Megan Moroney, Benson Boone and Metallica. (FTC civil complaint)
- [● 3 SOURCES] FTC Director Christopher Mufarrige said consumers should be able to purchase tickets without interference from bad actors. (FTC director statement)