A San Diego ticket broker is accused of running a years-long scalping operation that allegedly netted more than $120 million by using bot networks and offshore workers to snap up millions of tickets to concerts, sports games and Broadway shows before reselling them at inflated prices. The federal government filed a civil lawsuit against REPS & Company Inc., based in the Bay Ho neighborhood, along with three of its executives, accusing the company of violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act and the FTC Act.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed the civil complaint in San Diego federal court on October 15 after the Federal Trade Commission referred the matter, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The complaint alleges REPS used unlawful bot networks to buy event tickets in bulk and resell them at inflated prices, allegedly pulling in more than $120 million in the process.
According to the complaint, REPS created thousands of user accounts on Ticketmaster, AXS and other ticket-selling sites, then relied on VPNs, proxy IP addresses and ticket buyers based in the Philippines to conceal the scale of its purchases. The tactics allegedly circumvented technological security measures built into ticket issuers' websites and apps, as reported by Billboard, which also reported that REPS had its offshore ticket buyers use thousands of SIM cards to further mask the bulk buying.
Scope of the Alleged Scheme
Court filings describe defendants purchasing tickets in bulk for at least 83,000 events from Ticketmaster and AXS dating back to January 2022, though outlets have reported slightly different totals for the number of events involved. Billboard reported the figure as 83,000 events, while Complex reported it as 83,500 events in the same period. REPS allegedly spent more than $1.3 billion acquiring over 18.5 million tickets in total, per the complaint.
Profit figures also vary slightly depending on the source cited in the filings. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the complaint alleges at least $120.8 million in resale profit, while Billboard's reporting put the figure at $120 million. Events covered by the alleged scheme included concerts, music festivals, professional and collegiate sports, stand-up comedy, Broadway shows and touring theater productions, with resales allegedly occurring on StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Gametime, TicketNetwork and Ticketmaster's own resale marketplace.
Beyoncé and Pitbull Tickets Named as Examples
Among the specific incidents cited in the complaint is an October 2023 Beyoncé concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, where the ticket purchase limit was set between four and eight tickets per buyer. Defendants allegedly used at least 1,300 Ticketmaster accounts to buy 7,624 tickets to that show, according to Rolling Stone. Complex reported those Beyoncé-related purchases generated approximately $833,323 in resale profits.
A separate example involves a Pitbull concert in New York, where REPS allegedly used at least 700 Ticketmaster accounts to buy 5,430 tickets. Those purchases allegedly represented nearly one-third of the capacity of a venue with an estimated 17,500-person capacity, and the report notes the resale allegedly generated approximately $120,109 in profit. Rolling Stone's reporting on a comparable September 2024 Pitbull show at the Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater in Syracuse described a similar pattern, with roughly 700 accounts used to buy 5,430 tickets representing close to a third of that venue's capacity.
FTC Official Warns of Continued Scrutiny
Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said REPS' business model seeks to obtain as many tickets as possible for resale at inflated prices. He added that companies driving up ticket prices or limiting fans' access to reasonably priced tickets should expect FTC action, according to the Union-Tribune's report.
The lawsuit seeks monetary relief, civil penalties and a permanent injunction against continued alleged BOTS Act violations. Per Billboard, both the Justice Department and the FTC indicated they intend to keep closely monitoring ticket brokers for potential BOTS Act violations going forward.
Case Details and Company Response
The case is docketed as United States of America v. REPS & Company, Inc. et al., case number 3:26-cv-5895-CAB-BJW, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, according to PacerMonitor. The docket lists Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo and Magistrate Judge Brian J. White as assigned to the case, and the complaint with jury demand names executives Brian Archibald, Ryan Pancheri and Nicholas Totagrande alongside REPS & Company Inc.
REPS did not respond to the Union-Tribune's request for comment, and it was not immediately clear who was representing the company or its executives. Billboard separately reported that REPS did not immediately return its own request for comment on the lawsuit. The allegations outlined in the complaint have not been adjudicated, and no judgment or penalty has been entered in the case.
The case arrives amid broader federal scrutiny of the ticketing industry. The FTC sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in September 2025, alleging bait-and-switch pricing and deceptive ticket limits, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The agency also brought an enforcement action against Elite Events this past July over allegedly bypassing ticket-purchase limits in violation of the same BOTS Act cited in the REPS complaint.
