{"id":478,"date":"2026-08-03T16:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=478"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:32:47","slug":"ftc-takes-action-against-elite-events-for-bypassing-ticket-purchase-limits-in-violation-of-better-online-ticket-sales-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=478","title":{"rendered":"FTC Takes Action Against Elite Events for Bypassing Ticket Purchase Limits in Violation of Better Online Ticket Sales Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <a id=\"main-content\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"primary-layout-columns\">\n<div class=\"usa-layout-docs__main\">\n<div class=\"region region-content\">\n<div id=\"block-block-content-b5025772-a547-4f8f-a251-ec580178b320\" class=\"block block-block-content block-block-contentb5025772-a547-4f8f-a251-ec580178b320 block--block-content--basic\">\n<div class=\"block-content block-content--type-basic block-content--983 block-content--view-mode-full\">\n<div class=\"block-content__content\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-body field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div id=\"block-system-main-block--3\" class=\"block block-system block-system-main-block\">\n<div class=\"block-content-container\">\n<article class=\"node node--type-press-release node--view-mode-full node--334912\">\n<div class=\"node__content\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-tags-view field--type-viewfield field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__item field__item-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"view view-tags__block view-tags view-id-tags view-display-id-block js-view-dom-id-f84b695102ff34b033af344249dac1fde9463cd2d3b138332a0bcd2c7ba59d82 view--block\">\n<div class=\"view__content\">\n<div class=\"view-content\">\n<div class=\"item-list\">\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"views-field views-field-name\"><span class=\"field-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/consumer-protection\">Consumer Protection<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"views-field views-field-name\"><span class=\"field-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/bureau-consumer-protection\">Bureau of Consumer Protection<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"views-field views-field-name\"><span class=\"field-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/terms\/deceptivemisleading-conduct\">deceptive\/misleading conduct<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"views-field views-field-name\"><span class=\"field-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/industry\/entertainment\">Entertainment<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item\">\n<p>Ticket broker Elite Events and its operators will pay $300,000 in civil penalties to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that the firm purchased millions of dollars\u2019 worth of tickets to high-demand events by illegally circumventing measures designed to limit the number of tickets that can be purchased to a single event.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/EliteEvents-Complaint.pdf\">complaint<\/a>,\u00a0the FTC alleged that Elite Events and Tickets LLC, which also does business as Smart Scalpers or smartscalpers.com, and its owners, Kevin W. McKerley and Aaron L. Fera, violated the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. That law makes it illegal for any person to \u201ccircumvent a security measure, access control system, or other technological control or measure on an Internet website or online service that is used by the ticket issuer to enforce posted event ticket limits or to maintain the integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules.\u201d The complaint alleged Elite Events used a variety of unlawful tactics to bypass ticket purchasing limits for more than 2,400 different events and resold those tickets on the secondary marketplace at a significant profit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsumers should be able to purchase tickets to events without having to contend with bad actors who drive up prices and make it harder for fans to see their favorite artists and athletes,\u201d said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Protection. \u201cElite Events operators utilized a range of unlawful tactics to deprive consumers of the opportunity to purchase tickets for events at prices set by the ticket issuers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For example, Elite Events used 75 accounts to purchase 277 tickets to a Metallica concert at Virginia Tech University between September 2024-March 2025 even though the ticket seller limited purchasers from buying more than six tickets. After Elite Events spent between $50 to $270 per ticket, they resold the tickets in the secondary marketplace for $100 to $400 per ticket, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Ticket issuers such as Ticketmaster and AXS have put in place measures to block resellers from violating ticket purchasing limits to popular events. These security measures include ticket quantity selectors capped at the ticket purchasing limit and monitoring whether purchases are associated with verifiable accounts and unique credit cards, email addresses, phone numbers and IP addresses, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint alleged that Elite Events employed hundreds of agents, many of whom are based abroad, to purchase tickets utilizing unlawful tactics, such as using:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hundreds of ticket purchasing accounts created with fictitious names, addresses and phone numbers, or with names, addresses and phone numbers belonging to the company\u2019s employees;<\/li>\n<li>Numerous virtual credit card accounts to generate thousands of unique credit card numbers;<\/li>\n<li>IP Proxy services that helped conceal the IP address used to make ticket purchases and made it appear as if the purchases were coming from different consumers in different locations; and<\/li>\n<li>Multi-session browsers, which allow individuals to open multiple independent browsing sessions within one internet application.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The FTC alleged that Fera and McKerley were directly involved in the unlawful conduct. In fact, they even appeared in an April 2025 CBS Mornings documentary and boasted about their ticket reselling operation and use of circumvention software.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/system\/files\/ftc_gov\/pdf\/EliteEvents-StipulatedOrder.pdf\">proposed order<\/a> settling the FTC\u2019s allegations imposes more than $10.7 million in civil penalties against Elite Events, Fera and McKerley, which will be partially suspended after payment of $300,000 due to their inability to pay the full amount. The full amount will be due immediately if they are found to have lied about their finances. In addition, Elite Events, Fera and McKerley also are permanently prohibited from engaging in the unlawful activities outlined in the complaint including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Circumventing security measures, access control systems, or other technological controls or measures to exceed posted ticket purchasing limits or to circumvent ticket purchasing order rules;<\/li>\n<li>Using multiple ticket purchasing accounts, multiple IP addresses or multisession browsers to circumvent ticket purchasing limits; and\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li>Purchasing or paying for a ticket on an Internet website or online service from a credit card account, debit card account, bank account, prepaid card account or a digital wallet or online payment system in the name of anyone other than Fera or McKerley.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the complaint and stipulated final order was 2-0.\u00a0 The FTC filed the complaint and final order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE:\u00a0<\/strong>The Commission files a complaint when it has \u201creason to believe\u201d that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. Stipulated final orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.<\/p>\n<p>The FTC staff attorneys on this matter are Ryan McAuliffe and Sung W. Kim in the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Protection.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-boilerplate-block field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field--count-1\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"block-content block-content--type-boilerplate block-content--3 block-content--view-mode-default\">\n<div class=\"block-content__content\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item\">\n<p><span>The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/about-ftc\/bureaus-offices\/bureau-consumer-protection\"><span>protect and educate consumers<\/span><\/a><span>. The FTC will never demand money, make threats, tell you to transfer money, or promise you a prize. Learn more about consumer topics at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/consumer.ftc.gov\/\"><span>consumer.ftc.gov<\/span><\/a><span>, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/reportfraud.ftc.gov\/\"><span>ReportFraud.ftc.gov<\/span><\/a><span>. Follow the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/stay-connected\/social-media\"><span>FTC on social media<\/span><\/a><span>, read <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/consumer.ftc.gov\/consumer-alerts\"><span>consumer alerts<\/span><\/a><span> and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/business-guidance\/blog\"><span>business blog<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/stay-connected\" data-entity-type=\"node\" data-entity-uuid=\"179e3a69-54d7-43a6-aab3-3c5a9f847919\" data-entity-substitution=\"canonical\"><span>sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"views-element-container block block-views block-views-blockftc-press-release-block-7\" id=\"block-views-block-ftc-press-release-block-7--3\">\n<div class=\"block-content-container\">\n<div class=\"view view-ftc-press-release__block_7 view-ftc-press-release view-id-ftc_press_release view-display-id-block_7 js-view-dom-id-4cbb67c48edf856805290bd04eb469923907d843769196ef3801b3ed32ca3a1b view--block\">\n<div class=\"view__content\">\n<div class=\"view-content\">\n<div class=\"views-row\">\n<h3 class=\"views-label views-label-field-media-contacts\">Media Contact<\/h3>\n<div class=\"paragraph paragraph--type--media-contact paragraph--view-mode--default\">\n<div class=\"paragraph__content\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-media-contact-single field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field--count-1\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<article class=\"node node--type-biography node--view-mode-contact-information node--78638\">\n<div class=\"node__content\">\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2026\/07\/mailto:jhenderson2@ftc.gov\"><br \/>\n<span>Juliana Gruenwald Henderson<\/span><br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-division field--type-string field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item\">Office of Public Affairs<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-phone field--type-telephone field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item\">202-326-2924<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"tni-attribution\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2026\/07\/ftc-takes-action-against-elite-events-bypassing-ticket-purchase-limits-violation-better-online\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Press Release Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2026\/07\/ftc-takes-action-against-elite-events-bypassing-ticket-purchase-limits-violation-better-online\">Press Release Feed<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Proposed order settling FTC allegations will require company and its executives to pay $300,000 and ban them from using unlawful tactics to bypass ticket purchase limits Ticket broker Elite Events and its operators will pay $300,000 in civil penalties to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that the firm purchased millions of dollars\u2019 worth of tickets&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-civil-service-independent-agencies-federal-trade-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":685,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions\/685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}