FTC can advance lawsuit against Maryland men accused of making millions in price-gouging scheme
A Maryland federal judge ruled that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can move forward with its lawsuit against a Pikesville-based company accused of buying thousands of concert tickets and then reselling them with major upcharges.
The lawsuit alleges that three men, two men from Baltimore County, and their LLCs made more than 13,000 Ticketmaster accounts to purchase tickets, resulting in millions of dollars of profit off the backs of concertgoers.
The FTC claims that between 2022 and 2023, the men bought hundreds of thousands of concert tickets from Ticketmaster before reselling them at a steep price, and allegedly made more than $5.5 million on the secondary market.
The defendants in the current case say they believe that, since they did not use computer bots to buy and sell tickets, certain laws don't apply to them in this situation.
But the judge's decision shows that's not the case, with the backing of both federal and state laws.
CBS News Baltimore reached out to the FTC, and it had no comment. CBS News Baltimore didn't hear back from the defendants, but according to court documents, they are accused of doing similar practices in Washington state, as well.
Maryland's efforts to crack down on ticket scalping
The lawsuit comes as more states, including Maryland, are looking to crack down on ticket scalping.
Maryland Sen. Dawn Gile sponsored a bill in Maryland's State House in 2025, aimed at protecting fans from resale and price gougers.
"I'm hopeful that by having this lawsuit create teeth, it will inhibit other scalpers from these types of practices," Sen. Gile said.
Gile's bill followed uproar over fans losing out on concerts, like Taylor Swift's blockbuster "Eras Tour" and Bruce Springsteen's show at MetLife, in New Jersey, both concerts among the events the FTC said the Pikesville-based scamming group profited from.
"It just reinforces that there's more we can be doing to stop these scalpers that are making a lot of money off of fans, off of artists," Gile said.
Gile said she's been talking to lawmakers in other states about how they are planning stricter laws against scalpers and price gougers.
Bypassing security measures
According to investigators, most ticket scalping scammers bypass Ticketmaster's security measures to purchase more tickets than allowed by using multiple accounts.
"They're able to circumvent all those systems that may be put in place, and they're able to buy these tickets and sell them for a massive amount," Gile said.
