Audio By Carbonatix
A Jamaican man who allegedly stole and resold more 900 tickets to Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour has pleaded guilty to a New York criminal charge.
Tyrone Rose, 20, was arrested in March over allegations that he used backdoor access as an employee of a StubHub contractor to steal the pricey tickets, before forwarding them to a Queens-based accomplice who resold them for more than $635,000 in illegal profit.
At a court hearing Thursday (Oct. 23), Rose pleaded guilty to a single count of grand larceny in the second degree over the alleged scalping scheme, while a sentencing hearing on that charge was set for January. Rose could face up to 15 years in prison.
The guilty plea was likely part of a deal under which prosecutors could recommend less than the maximum.
Rose was also charged with five additional counts, including computer tampering, money laundering and conspiracy, which were not included in Thursday’s guilty plea.
Swift’s Eras Tour wrapped up last year with a record-breaking haul of more than $2 billion in face-value ticket sales over a two-year run that featured 149 stops in 51 cities across 21 countries.
Massive demand for tickets led to a chaotic presale in November 2022, sparking calls for ticketing reform; it also created an infamously pricey secondary market, with even basic seats selling for thousands.
The Eras Tour has also been big business in the courtroom. Swift fans filed class actions against Ticketmaster over the presale, and the Federal Trade Commission is suing a ticket broker for allegedly using bots to buy tickets that it resold for more than $1 million in profit.
Just this month, an angry Swiftie sued StubHub for giving her “inferior” seats after she dropped $14,000 on Eras tickets.
In March, Queens prosecutors charged Rose with stealing more than 900 Eras tickets while working at a StubHub contractor in Jamaica called Sutherland.
He allegedly abused his position to access a restricted area of StubHub’s network that houses URLs for event tickets that have already been sold, then re-directed them to New York-based co-conspirators who resold them for a windfall.
“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,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said at the time. “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 was not accused of any wrongdoing. When Rose was arrested, the company said it had promptly reported the scheme to both Sutherland and to law enforcement when uncovered, and had replaced or refunded all affected orders. Sutherland was also not accused of any wrongdoing.
Both an attorney for Rose and a spokesperson for the Queens DA did not return requests for comment on the guilty plea on Friday (Oct. 24).
Latest Stories
-
“The Darkest Chapter”: Latif Abubakar’s 21st production brings President Mahama’s UN reckoning to the National Theatre stage
4 minutes -
Teacher, three others investigated over alleged kidnapping of suspected MoMo fraudster in Kumasi
4 minutes -
Afenyo-Markin mourns Bernice Offei, describes her songs as ‘sermons set to music’
5 minutes -
Don’t just learn AI tools, use them to improve productivity – ALX Enterprise
12 minutes -
Free rabies vaccination campaign targets 25,000 dogs and cats nationwide
18 minutes -
Ghana needs a system to track child protection funding to where risks are highest – ARK Foundation
20 minutes -
AI may not replace humans, but workers who fail to adapt could lose jobs – ALX Enterprise
22 minutes -
Gideon Boako: Bretton Woods is fraying; Ghana has built a bridge
23 minutes -
Ghana’s child protection system failing children despite laws and policies – ARK Foundation
24 minutes -
‘Future of Black Queens is safe for many years’ – Black Princesses boss Charles Sampson
28 minutes -
Titus Glover questions Laboma Beach demolition, proposes widening Kpeshie Lagoon outlet
28 minutes -
NACOC arrests 3 suspects linked to Dutch fugitive drug kingpin
49 minutes -
Workers must complement AI skills with professional expertise to remain relevant – ALX Enterprise
1 hour -
Companies that delay AI adoption risk losing market opportunities – ALX Enterprise
1 hour -
‘The future is bright’ – Gyan backs Black Princesses squad after U-20 World Cup exit
1 hour