Feds Bust $25M Ticket-Scalping Ring

'Wiseguys' accused of using hackers to corner market on concert tickets
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2010 1:23 AM CST
Feds Bust $25M Ticket-Scalping Ring
The "Wiseguys" are accused of purchasing more than 11,000 tickets to Bruce Springsteen shows alone during three months in 2007.   (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Four men who formed a company called "Wiseguy Tickets" have been charged with running a massive ticket-scalping scheme. Federal prosecutors say the Californians employed a team of Bulgarian computer programmers to help them access the systems of vendors like Ticketmaster and corner the market on tickets for some of the country's hottest concerts and sporting events, CNET reports.

Authorities say the men raked in over $25 million in profits by selling tickets to events like Bruce Springsteen and Miley Cyrus concerts and baseball playoffs at huge markups. "At a time when the Internet has brought convenience and fairness to the ticket marketplace, these defendants gamed the system with a sophisticated fraud operation," a US attorney said, announcing fraud, conspiracy, and computer hacking charges against the Wiseguys. (More internet stories.)

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