The New York Prosecutor’s Office has announced that a cybercriminal group orchestrated the theft and resale of more than 900 electronic tickets for Taylor Swift concerts and other high-profile events through the StubHub platform.
The scheme operated on an international scale and involved employees of a Jamaica-based firm that StubHub had contracted to process orders. These employees intercepted the URLs of purchased tickets and forwarded them to accomplices in New York, who then downloaded and relisted them on StubHub at exorbitant prices.
Over the course of the operation, which ran from June 2022 to July 2023, the perpetrators amassed more than $600,000 in illicit profits. While the majority of the stolen tickets were for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the fraudsters also resold passes to Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games, and the US Open tennis championship.
Investigators are continuing to assess the full scope of the scheme and identify potential additional co-conspirators. Thus far, two suspects—Tyron Rose and Shamara Simmons—have been arrested and charged with grand larceny, computer fraud, and conspiracy.
Rose, 20, operated from Jamaica, where he rerouted stolen tickets to the email of Simmons, 31, and another accomplice in Queens. The latter was apprehended during a visit to New York, after which the court ordered him to surrender his passport. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty and were released under travel restrictions pending their next court appearance on March 7.
StubHub independently uncovered the fraudulent operation, reported it to law enforcement, and terminated its partnership with the implicated contractor. The company has since strengthened its security measures and assured customers of either ticket replacements or full refunds for all compromised purchases.
