FTC Takes Action Against Elite Events for Bypassing Ticket Purchase Limits in Violation of Better Online Ticket Sales Act

Ticket broker Elite Events and its operators will pay $300,000 in civil penalties to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that the firm purchased millions of dollars’ worth of tickets to high-demand events by illegally circumventing measures designed to limit the number of tickets that can be purchased to a single event.

In a complaint, the FTC alleged that Elite Events and Tickets LLC, which also does business as Smart Scalpers or smartscalpers.com, and its owners, Kevin W. McKerley and Aaron L. Fera, violated the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. That law makes it illegal for any person to “circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other technological control or measure on an Internet website or online service that is used by the ticket issuer to enforce posted event ticket limits or to maintain the integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules.” The complaint alleged Elite Events used a variety of unlawful tactics to bypass ticket purchasing limits for more than 2,400 different events and resold those tickets on the secondary marketplace at a significant profit.

“Consumers should be able to purchase tickets to events without having to contend with bad actors who drive up prices and make it harder for fans to see their favorite artists and athletes,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Elite Events operators utilized a range of unlawful tactics to deprive consumers of the opportunity to purchase tickets for events at prices set by the ticket issuers.”

For example, Elite Events used 75 accounts to purchase 277 tickets to a Metallica concert at Virginia Tech University between September 2024-March 2025 even though the ticket seller limited purchasers from buying more than six tickets. After Elite Events spent between $50 to $270 per ticket, they resold the tickets in the secondary marketplace for $100 to $400 per ticket, according to the complaint.