Two individuals have been arrested in New York City for orchestrating a cybercrime scheme that exploited backend access to StubHub’s system, allowing them to steal 900 concert tickets—most of which were for Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour.
The Fraudulent Scheme
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the arrests of 20-year-old Tyrone Rose and 31-year-old Shamara Simmons, revealing that their scheme involved a StubHub contractor in Kingston, Jamaica.
Rose and an unapprehended accomplice were employed by Sutherland Global Services (SGS), a third-party StubHub vendor. Between June 2022 and July 2023, they allegedly manipulated the system to access a secure backend database where sold tickets were queued for delivery.
The fraudsters redirected the ticket URLs to the emails of Simmons and another co-conspirator, who has since passed away. This allowed them to steal 993 tickets from approximately 350 StubHub orders. The stolen tickets were then resold on StubHub, generating an illicit profit of approximately $635,000.
While the majority of tickets were for Swift’s Eras Tour, the fraud also included tickets for concerts featuring Adele, Ed Sheeran, NBA games, and US Open tennis events.
Queens DA: A High-Stakes Exploitation of the System
“These defendants tried to capitalize on the overwhelming demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and other high-profile events to make a profit at the expense of others,” said DA Melinda Katz.
“They allegedly exploited a loophole through an offshore ticket vendor to steal tickets to the biggest concert tour of the last decade and resell them for an extraordinary profit of more than $600,000.”
The case was referred to Katz’s office by StubHub, which has not publicly commented. However, StubHub stated that upon discovering the fraud, it immediately notified SGS, Jamaican law enforcement, and Katz’s office. The implicated employees were promptly terminated by SGS.
Legal Consequences & Ongoing Investigation
Rose and Simmons have been charged with:
- Grand Larceny
- Computer Tampering
- Conspiracy
Both suspects are set to appear in court on Friday. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of three to fifteen years in prison.
Authorities continue to investigate the case to determine if additional individuals were involved.
A Growing Target for Cybercriminals
This incident underscores the increasing vulnerability of ticketing platforms to cybercrime. StubHub and Ticketmaster have been primary targets for hackers, especially regarding Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets.
In 2023, Ticketmaster had to dispute claims on the dark web that cybercriminals had access to working ticket barcodes for Swift’s concerts and other major events.
Additionally, when Eras Tour tickets initially went on sale in 2022, Ticketmaster’s website collapsed under a flood of bot-generated requests, preventing real fans from securing tickets.
As ticket fraud schemes grow more sophisticated, platforms like StubHub and Ticketmaster face increasing pressure to strengthen security measures and protect consumers from cybercriminals.
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