Two New York City residents are facing charges for allegedly stealing and re-selling more than 900 tickets, many for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Prosecutors say the cybertheft scheme netted more than $US600,000 ($950,000) in profits. Other high-profile events included Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games and the US Open Tennis Championships.
Queens residents Tyrone Rose, 20, and Shamara Simmons, 31, are charged with grand larceny and computer tampering. Prosecutors say another person involved has not yet been arrested.
The Queens district attorney’s office said Rose was a contractor at StubHub and redirected confirmation emails so tickets could be resold.
“According to the charges, these defendants tried to use the popularity of Taylor Swift’s concert tour and other high-profile events to profit at the expense of others,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement on Tuesday.
“They allegedly exploited a loophole through an offshore ticket vendor to steal tickets to the biggest concert tour of the last decade and then resold those seats for an extraordinary profit.”
StubHub released a statement, writing in part, “ensuring a safe and secure platform for our fans is our highest priority”.
“StubHub has since replaced or refunded all identified orders impacted and strengthened security measures to further protect our fans and sellers,” the statement continued.
“We appreciate the efforts of District Attorney Melinda Katz and law enforcement in bringing these individuals to justice.”
Ticketmaster’s site crashed during the pre-sale for Swift’s Eras Tour, and re-sale tickets on sites like StubHub went for upwards of $US30,000 ($47,000). Swift told her fans at the time the glitch “really pisses me off”. The international tour was the first to gross more than $US1 billion ($1.58 billion).
