StubHub contractors ‘stole and resold 900+ tickets’

Employees of a third-party contractor for StubHub allegedly stole more than 900 tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour and other events and then resold them for more than $600,000 in illegal profit, New York prosecutors say.

According to prosecutors, the tickets were stolen by two employees at a third-party contractor for StubHub in Jamaica called Sutherland, who then emailed them to other members of a “cybercrime crew” in New York who resold them on the platform for a windfall.

The 993 tickets were allegedly stolen between June 2022 and July 2023 and led to 350 StubHub orders totalling $635,000.

Tyrone Rose, 20, of Jamaica, and Shamara P. Simmons, 31, of New York, were arrested over the alleged scheme last week on charges of grand larceny, computer tampering and conspiracy, according to a statement Monday by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Each faces a maximum sentence of three to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

“The individuals involved, employees of [Sutherland], exploited a system vulnerability to fraudulently resell tickets”

According to prosecutors, Rose and an unnamed accomplice used their positions at Sutherland to access a restricted area of StubHub’s network used to house URLs for event tickets that have already been sold. The pair then allegedly redirected those tickets to Simmons and another unnamed accomplice, who posted the tickets to StubHub and resold them for profit.

Though the “majority” of the stolen tickets were for stops on Swift’s $2bn Eras Tour, Rose and Simmons also allegedly stole tickets to Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games and the US Open Tennis Championships.

Neither StubHub nor Sutherland has been accused of any wrongdoing. In a statement, StubHub’s chief legal officer, Mark Streams, said that when it uncovered the scheme, it promptly reported it to Sutherland and law enforcement: “The individuals involved, employees of [Sutherland], exploited a system vulnerability to fraudulently resell tickets,” he said. “They were swiftly identified and terminated.”

Streams said the company had replaced or refunded all affected orders and had also strengthened its security protocols to avoid future scams. StubHub has also since ended its relationship with Sutherland, the company said.

Last year StubHub was sued by the attorney general for the District of Columbia (DC) in the US, accusing the resale platform of “deceptive” pricing and hidden fees.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Read More Like This

News|04 Oct 2024

NIVA appeals to Congress over fake Oasis tickets

The trade association says it has found thousands of speculative tickets for the band's US tour being offered for sale on secondary sites

News|29 Oct 2024

Oasis tour promoters to cancel 50k resale tickets

Live Nation and SJM Concerts say tickets sold on unofficial secondary ticketing platforms will be voided and re-listed on Ticketmaster

News|17 Dec 2024

J.Cole sells $1 tickets to Madison Square Garden show

The American rapper announced that 2,014 of these tickets were available on a first-come-first-serve basis

News|10 Feb 2025

Oasis tickets cancelled over suspected bot use

Ticketmaster and See Tickets have begun voiding tickets bought by those believed to have breached the terms and conditions

News|03 Mar 2025

CM.com acquires blockchain platform GUTS Tickets

"This gives fans a safe and fair way to participate in events, while organisers can count on transparent ticket sales"