A group of cybercriminals managed to steal close to 1,000 tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and then resold them at significantly higher prices, netting hundreds of thousands of dollars, as reported by New York prosecutors.
Two individuals, Tyrone Rose, a 20-year-old from Kingston, Jamaica, and Shamara Simmons, a 31-year-old from Jamaica, Queens, were apprehended and brought to court in New York last week. They are accused of making approximately $635,000 from the illicit ticket sales, according to the Washington Post.
The illicit operation, which spanned from June 2022 to July 2023, coincided with the presale period of the Eras Tour, causing Ticketmaster’s website to crash. The resold tickets were reportedly fetching an average price of $1,611 on SeatGeek.
Rose, who previously worked for StubHub vendor Sutherland, allegedly redirected 1,000 tickets from Swift’s tour and other major events. According to the prosecutors, ticket URLs were sent to Queens, where Simmons and a now-deceased individual allegedly downloaded and resold them on StubHub for $635,000.
They were charged with grand larceny, computer tampering and conspiracy over their alleged involvement in the year-long cybercrime scheme on Thursday.
They each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Nearly 1,000 concert tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour were stolen by a ‘cybercrime crew’ who resold them for $635,000, according to New York prosecutors; Swift seen performing in Vancouver during the Eras Tour in 2024
‘These defendants tried to use the popularity of Taylor Swift’s concert tour and other high-profile events to profit at the expensive of others,’ Melinda Katz, Queens County District Attorney, 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.’
‘StubHub has since replaced or refunded all identified orders impacted and strengthened security measures to further protect our fans and sellers,’ Mark Streams, the ticket provider’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.
The stolen tickets were primarily from Swift’s Eras Tour, but also included Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, as well as NBA games, the U.S. Open tennis championships and other events.
In July, D.C. attorney general Brian Schwalb sued StubHub for ‘drip pricing,’ which the company denies, while in May, the U.S. government filed an antitrust suit against Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, amid accusations that it monopolized the ticket and concert industries.
Dan Wall, Executive Vice President, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs of Live Nation, responded to the allegations, stating, ‘The complaint — and even more so the press conference announcing it — attempt to portray Live Nation and Ticketmaster as the cause of fan frustration with the live entertainment industry.’
‘It blames concert promoters and ticketing companies — neither of which control ticket prices — for high ticket prices. It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping that reveals the public’s willingness to pay far more than primary tickets cost.’
He called the claims of a monopoly ‘absurd.’
The Eras Tour achieved a historic milestone, becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first to pass $2billion in revenue.
After two years and 149 shows, the tour concluded on December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The year-long hacking scheme, which lasted from June 2022 to July 2023, involved tickets from Swift’s tour and other major events being redirected and then resold on StubHub
Tyrone Rose, a 20-year-old from Kingston, Jamaica, and Shamara Simmons, 31, based in Jamaica, Queens, were arrested and arraigned in New York last week. They worked with a now-deceased individual
The cyber scheme coincided with the Eras Tour presales, which infamously crashed Ticketmaster; Swift seen performing in 2024
The two individuals each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted; The signer seen on stage in Nashville, Tennessee in 2023
Comprising of distinct ‘eras’ based on her 10 studio albums, the singer has broken an abundance of records with her three-hour-long, 40 song setlist.
Eras – with its glitz, glam and celebrity guests – has seen Taylor become the first ever person to be crowned a billionaire predominately from music, and the world’s richest female musician.
The impressive spectacle pulled in more than four million fans flock to arenas around the world, with A-listers, political figures and even royals all competing to be the ‘biggest Swiftie’ out there.
It is estimated that Taylor has sold 4.35 million tickets to the Eras Tour.
Ticketmaster has caused outrage over how it has dealt with the event and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment was sued over monopolizing the live events industry in the US.
Swifties hit out at the ticketing giant after a fiasco sale for her sell-out Eras tour saw a general release of tickets cancelled.
Fans were left furious after a pre-sale event saw all tickets sold – meaning the general release could not go ahead.
In August, Taylor was forced to cancel her three shows in Austria after two suspects were arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack on each of her Vienna concerts.
The popstar was due to perform at Vienna’s Ernst-Happel-Stadion on August 8, 9, and 10.
Swift’s concert promoter Barracuda Music posted a statement which read: ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Vienna Shows Cancelled Due to Government Officials Confirmation of Planned Terrorist Attack
The Eras Tour achieved a historic milestone, becoming the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first to pass $2billion in revenue; pictured performing in Sao Paulo in 2023
After two years and 149 shows, the tour concluded on December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, British Columbia; seen during her Nashville show in 2023
‘With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.
‘All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.’
It was later revealed that the CIA had helped thwart an ISIS terror attack, intended to kill ‘tens of thousands’ of fans.
On August 7, Austrian authorities arrested two people accused of plotting a terror attack, and others were arrested in following days.
