Two men have been arrested and arraigned for their role in a cybercrime ring that stole nearly 1,000 concert tickets, the majority of which were for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said this week.
According to a statement from Katz’s office, the ticket URLs were taken by a pair of StubHub subcontractors working for a third-party firm called Sutherland based in Kingston, Jamaica, and then emailed to their co-conspirators in Queens.
They allegedly exploited a loophole to download 993 tickets and then resold them back on StubHub, raking in roughly $635,000 between June 2022 and July 2023.
On top of the Eras Tour, the crime ring also boosted tickets for Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
Tyrone Rose, 20, of Kingston, Jamaica, and Shamara Simmons, 31, of Jamaica, Queens, were arrested and arraigned last week on charges of grand larceny in the second degree, conspiracy in the fourth degree and computer tampering in the first and fourth degrees.
In Jamaica, Rose and an unapprehended accomplice worked for Sutherland. In Queens, Simmons worked with a now-deceased accomplice whose name was not released.
The men face a sentence of three to 15 years if convicted of the top count. They’re due back in court on Friday.
“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,” the district attorney said.
“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.”
StubHub said it ended its working relationship with Sutherland as soon as it learned of the scheme and alerted law enforcement in both Jamaica and Queens.
“StubHub has since replaced or refunded all identified orders impacted and strengthened security measures to further protect our fans and sellers,” the company told the Daily News on Tuesday. “We appreciate the efforts of District Attorney Melinda Katz and law enforcement in bringing these individuals to justice.”
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Source: American Military News