Six companies have agreed to pay nearly $4.2 million to New York State to settle allegations that they illegally sold tickets to concerts and other events.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the legal settlements Thursday.
Schneiderman's office says five of the companies – Renaissance Ventures (Prestige Entertainment), Ebrani Corp (Presidential Tickets), Concert Specials, Fanfetch and BMC Capital Partners – violated New York’s ticket laws by using illegal software (known as ticket “bots”) to purchase large numbers of tickets on websites such as Ticketmaster.com before the tickets could be obtained by consumers. The tickets were then resold to the public at significantly higher prices.
One company's ticket bots allegedly bought more than 1,000 tickets to a U2 concert in one minute. Others sold tickets without the proper state licenses, including the sixth company, JAL Enterprises (Top Star Tickets).
Since releasing its report on the concert and sports ticket industry titled Obstructed View: What’s Blocking New Yorkers From Getting Tickets in January 2016, the AG's office has now announced settlements with 15 businesses involved in the illegal ticket trade, including resellers, facilitators and software developers, for a total of $7.1 million. The office’s broader investigation into the secondary ticketing industry remains ongoing.
Attempts to reach the companies Wednesday were unsuccessful.
