Ticket reseller to pay $300,000 for using bots and proxy buyers to beat purchase limits
Elite Events and Tickets LLC, operating as Smart Scalpers, agreed to a civil penalty and a permanent ban on the conduct after the FTC alleged it bypassed ticket limits at more than 2,400 events.
The Federal Trade Commission announced on July 27, 2026 that it had reached a settlement requiring Elite Events and Tickets LLC, which operates as Smart Scalpers, and two individual defendants to pay a $300,000 civil penalty for violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. The stipulated order, filed in the Augusta Division of the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, imposes a total judgment of more than $10.7 million, most of which is suspended, and permanently bans the conduct at issue. The Commission voted 2-0.
According to the FTC, the defendants used technology to circumvent ticket sellers’ purchase limits in order to buy high-demand event tickets in bulk, covering more than 2,400 events. Ticketmaster, AXS and other platforms operate security measures including caps on the quantity a buyer can select and checks for duplicate accounts, payment cards, email addresses, phone numbers and IP addresses, the agency said.
As an example, the complaint describes purchases for a Metallica concert at Virginia Tech, where the defendants used 75 accounts to buy 277 tickets despite a six-ticket purchase limit, between September 2024 and March 2025. Tickets bought for $50 to $270 each were resold for $100 to $400, the FTC said. The agency also alleged the defendants hired hundreds of proxy buyers, including people living outside the United States, and noted that the two individual defendants appeared in an April 2025 CBS Mornings documentary in which they discussed using software to bypass purchase limits.
The suspended portion of the judgment becomes immediately due in full if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition. Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, commented on the action, which the agency said was handled by attorneys Ryan McAuliffe and Sung W. Kim. The stipulated order takes legal effect when approved and signed by the district court judge.