A Maryland-based ticket broker, Key Investment Group, is under fire for allegedly buying and reselling thousands of high-demand concert tickets, including those to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued the company, claiming it made millions in profit by circumventing Ticketmaster’s security measures.
According to the FTC, Key Investment Group purchased over 379,000 tickets at a cost of nearly $57 million and resold them on secondary marketplaces for around $64 million. The company allegedly used various tactics, including creating thousands of fake accounts and spoofing IP addresses, to bypass security measures and buy more tickets than allowed.
The FTC alleges that the company made over $1.2 million from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets alone, despite a six-ticket purchase limit per customer. Other events targeted by the alleged scheme include a Bruce Springsteen concert in New Jersey, where the defendants allegedly purchased and resold over 1,500 tickets.
Key Investment Group has denied the allegations, stating that it will “vigorously defend itself” against the FTC’s claims, which it says are an example of regulatory overreach. The company claims that its use of standard internet browsers is not misleading and that the government’s case threatens to dismantle the secondary ticket market for live events.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-tickets-resold-illegally-ftc-lawsuit