FTC Sues Ticket Brokers for Illegally Buying 379K Taylor Swift Tickets
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Key Investment Group LLC and its executives for illegally purchasing thousands of Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets. The company used fake accounts and sophisticated technology to bypass Ticketmaster's security systems, causing harm to regular consumers who couldn't buy tickets at face value.
The operation, spanning from November 2022 to December 2023, involved creating thousands of fake Ticketmaster accounts using made-up names, addresses, and phone numbers. The defendants also used thousands of different credit card numbers to avoid detection. They employed multiple illegal methods to circumvent Ticketmaster's purchase limits, including using proxy servers, SIM banks, and automated software. The company and its executives, Yair D. Rozmaryn, Elan N. Rozmaryn, and Taylor Kurth, purchased 379,776 tickets worth nearly $57 million, including 2,280 tickets for Taylor Swift concerts. The FTC argues that this operation harmed regular consumers, as tickets were only available on secondary markets at inflated prices. The FTC seeks permanent court orders preventing future violations and civil penalties for each violation of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. The operation generated approximately $64 million in resale revenue by marking up tickets far above face value. For Taylor Swift's March 25, 2023 concert at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the brokers used 49 different fake Ticketmaster accounts to purchase 273 tickets, paying $744,970 and reselling them for $1,961,980, making over $1.2 million in profit from Taylor Swift concerts alone.
The FTC's lawsuit aims to level the playing field and ensure fair access to tickets for regular fans. The court will determine the penalties for the defendants' violations of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. There is no publicly available information linking the executives to previous positions at companies associated with similar illegal practices.
Read also:
- Web3 gaming platform, Pixelverse, debuts on Base and Farcaster networks
- Cannabis-Focused CTV Channel Citizen Green Launches for Global Streamers
- Goodyear in 2025: Advancement in Total Mobility through the Launch of Kmax Gen-3 by Goodyear
- Boston Metal pioneers route to commercial production for eco-friendly steel method
