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[CRIME] · United States · 9 sources

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Part of situation: Lawsuit against REPS & Company for ticket scalping (2 clusters)

REPS & Company sued for alleged $120M illegal ticket scalping scheme

ticket scalping BOTS Act REPS & Company ticket resale consumer protection

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have filed a lawsuit against San Diego-based REPS & Company Inc. and three executives—Ryan Pancheri, Brian Archibald, and Nicholas Totagrande—for allegedly violating the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.

Federal prosecutors claim the company used bots, VPNs, and thousands of accounts to circumvent purchase limits for at least 83,500 events, including concerts by Beyoncé, Post Malone, and Pitbull. The firm reportedly spent over $1.3 billion to acquire approximately 18.5 million tickets, generating at least $120 million in profit through secondary marketplaces like StubHub and SeatGeek.

Specific allegations include the company using 1,300 accounts to purchase 7,624 tickets for a single Beyoncé Renaissance Tour show in Kansas City, netting roughly $833,323 in profit. In another instance, the firm allegedly used 700 accounts to secure 5,430 tickets for a Pitbull concert in Syracuse, New York. Investigators claim the company even hired ticket buyers in the Philippines to facilitate the scheme.

Entities

Beyoncé · Department of Justice · Federal Trade Commission · Pitbull · REPS & Co · REPS & Company Inc. · Ryan Pancheri

Sources

Feds bust ticket brokers accused of snapping up millions of Beyoncé, Post Malone and other tickets in billion-dollar scheme [offthepress.com]
San Diego Company Sued By U.S. DOJ Over Claims Of Illegally Scalping Millions Of Tickets - [music.mxdwn.com]
Beyoncé, Post Malone & More Concerts Caught Up In $1.3B Ticket Broker Lawsuit [www.hotnewhiphop.com]
Grazie ai bot, un super-bagarino ha rastrellato 18 milioni di biglietti [www.rollingstone.it]
Beyoncé Concert Tickets: Broker Accused of $833K Profit [balleralert.com]
Broker Sued for Allegedly Buying 18.5 Million Concert Tickets for Resale Purposes [www.complex.com]
DOJ Sues Scalper For Illegally Buying 18.5M Tickets — Including 7,624 To One Beyoncé Show [stereogum.com]
Feds Sue Ticket Broker Firm Over Alleged $120M Scheme For Beyoncé, Pitbull Tickets [www.hollywoodreporter.com]
Broker Accused of Illegally Buying 18. 5 Million Tickets to Beyoncé, Post Malone, and More [www.rollingstone.com]