Overview

• The FTC filed a civil complaint in Maryland federal court against Key Investment Group and affiliates, alleging violations of the BOTS Act and the FTC Act.
• Regulators say the operation used thousands of fictitious Ticketmaster accounts, spoofed IPs, SIM banks, and mass credit cards to bypass purchase caps.
• The complaint alleges at least 379,776 tickets were bought from Nov. 1, 2022 to Dec. 30, 2023 for nearly $57 million, with portions resold for about $64 million.
• Examples cited include 49 accounts used to purchase 273 tickets for a Las Vegas Taylor Swift show and 277 accounts used to buy 1,530 tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert.
• KIG denies wrongdoing, says it did not use bots, and previously sued the FTC in July to block the probe, while Ticketmaster is not accused in this suit despite internal 2018 materials included as evidence.