The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Key Investment Group and several affiliated companies, accusing them of using unlawful methods to buy hundreds of thousands of tickets to major live events, including Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and reselling them at higher prices. The complaint was filed Monday in federal court in Maryland.
The FTC alleges that the Baltimore-based company operated through multiple entities, including TotalTickets.com and Totally Tix, and created or purchased thousands of Ticketmaster accounts. It also claims the company used proxy servers, fake identities, and SIM cards to avoid detection. Regulators say these practices allowed the company to bypass Ticketmaster’s purchase safeguards and violated both the Better Online Ticket Sales Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibit unfair and deceptive practices.
According to the complaint, between November 2022 and December 2023, the defendants purchased at least 379,000 tickets through Ticketmaster for nearly $57 million and resold them for about $64 million. One example involved Taylor Swift’s March 2023 Las Vegas concert, where the company allegedly used 49 accounts to purchase 273 tickets, exceeding the six-ticket limit. The resale of those tickets generated more than $119,000 in profit. The FTC also cited similar practices involving Bruce Springsteen and Bad Bunny concerts.
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said in a statement that the case demonstrates the agency’s commitment to enforcing ticketing laws. The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, a permanent injunction, and other relief to prevent continued violations.
Key Investment Group has denied wrongdoing. In July, the company filed its own lawsuit against the FTC, claiming it did not use automated software and did not violate the BOTS Act. It argued that the agency’s approach threatens the secondary ticket market.
Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, are currently facing a separate federal antitrust lawsuit for allegedly monopolizing the live concert industry in the United States.
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