Taylor Swift Ticket Heist (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Two individuals are facing serious charges after allegedly orchestrating a high-tech ticket heist that capitalized on the immense demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Authorities say the duo managed to siphon off more than 900 tickets, most of them for Swift’s record-breaking tour, reselling them online and raking in a staggering $600,000 profit.
The Faces Behind The Crime
The case, announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, involves 20-year-old Tyrone Rose from Kingston, Jamaica, and 31-year-old Shamara P. Simmons from Jamaica, Queens. The pair were arrested on February 27 and hit with multiple charges, including grand larceny in the second degree, computer tampering in the first degree, conspiracy in the fourth degree and computer tampering in the fourth degree.
“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,” Katz shared in a statement. “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 of more than $600,000.”
“This takedown highlights the vigilance of my office’s Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency Unit as well as the importance of working with our industry partners to combat fraudulent activities and ensure the protection of consumers,” she concluded in her statement.
How The Scheme Worked
Using insider access at a third-party contractor for StubHub in Kingston, Jamaica, Rose and an accomplice, who remains at large, allegedly discovered a loophole allowing them to hijack already-purchased tickets. They reportedly intercepted ticket URLs before they reached their rightful owners, redirecting them instead to Simmons and another accomplice in New York.
From there, the stolen tickets, ranging from Swift’s Eras Tour to concerts for Adele and Ed Sheeran, as well as NBA games and the US Open, were resold on StubHub for significant markups.
In total, authorities estimate the operation funneled 993 tickets into the hands of unsuspecting buyers, netting the suspects approximately $635,000.
The Scale of the Fraud
The Queens D.A.’s Office noted that their investigation found the scheme took place between June 2022 and July 2023 in connection to approximately 350 StubHub orders.
As for Swift’s Eras Tour, it remains an unprecedented phenomenon. With over 10 million attendees and more than $2 billion in ticket sales, it has cemented its place as the highest-grossing concert tour in history, making it an irresistible target for scammers.
Authorities are urging anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to cyber fraud to contact the Queens D.A.’s Cyber Crimes team for assistance.
