The Federal Trade Commission sued Key Investment Group, a Baltimore-based ticket broker, alleging it evaded purchase caps to buy up thousands of seats to in-demand shows, including Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and flipped them for profit.
FTC Acts Against Ticket Broker For Flouting Purchase Limits
According to a complaint filed on Monday in Maryland federal court, the FTC alleges that the company operated through thousands of Ticketmaster accounts, including some fake or purchased ones, to circumvent safeguards. For one particular Swift show, the firm used 49 accounts to buy 273 tickets despite a six-ticket limit, the agency said, according to Reuters.
FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said the case "puts brokers on notice that the Trump-Vance FTC will police operations that unlawfully circumvent ticket sellers' purchase limits, ensuring that consumers have an opportunity to buy tickets at fair prices."
The complaint targets Key Investment Group and its affiliated entities, which have done business under the names Epic Seats, TotalTickets.com and Totally Tix, as well as three executives. It alleges violations of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and the FTC Act, citing tactics such as proxy IPs, SIM boxes for phone verifications and large numbers of pseudonymous accounts.
How Key Investment Group Allegedly Cheated The System
The filing says the operation bought roughly 380,000 tickets over a little more than a year, spending nearly $57 million and reselling a portion for about $64 million.
Key Investment Group denies wrongdoing. In July, it sued the FTC to block the probe, arguing it used human buyers rather than bots and warning the agency intends "to shut down the entire secondary-ticket market." The company says it largely complied with posted limits.
Trump’s Pledge To Stop Scalpers After Ticketmaster’s 2022 Mess Up
The action lands amid renewed scrutiny of ticketing after Ticketmaster's botched 2022 Eras Tour sale, when unprecedented demand and automated traffic crashed systems and fueled resale spikes. Separately, the Justice Department and states are seeking to break up Live Nation Entertainment Inc, Ticketmaster's parent, alleging monopoly power across live concerts.
The lawsuit also follows a March executive order from President Donald Trump directing agencies to curb "exploitative ticket scalping" and increase transparency, all part of a broader crackdown the White House says is aimed at protecting fans.
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