Great Neck Online Ticket Brokers To Pay Millions: U.S. Attny

GREAT NECK, NY — Three Great Neck ticket brokers are settling up with the federal government for millions over allegations they bought sporting event and concert tickets — including for Elton John — from Ticketmaster and then resold them at significantly higher prices, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Friday.

The settlements arose from previous civil enforcement actions alleging that from Jan. 1, 2017 to the present, the companies used ticket bots and other computer technology to access tens of thousands of tickets for sporting events and concerts, and their purchases exceeded posted ticket limits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Under three negotiated settlements, Just In Time Tickets, Inc. and owner Evan Kohanian; Concert Specials, Inc. and owner Steven Ebrani; and Cartisim Corp. and owner Simon Ebrani, have agreed to pay $1.6 million, $1.5 million, and roughly $500,000, respectively, to satisfy violations of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

The settlements, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, were negotiated based upon three stipulated orders, which which were issued in U.S. Eastern District Court in Central Islip, mandating that the companies pay millions in fines for allegedly circumventing Ticketmaster’s restrictions on users holding multiple accounts. The companies allegedly held multiple accounts in the names of family members, friends, and fictitious people and used hundreds of credit cards and used “ticket bots” to fool tests designed to prevent nonhuman visitors and used programs to conceal the IP addresses of the computers they used to make purchases, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Manhattan attorney Leonard Cohen, who is representing the three companies, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Under the court order, the three brokers will no longer be able to use ticket bots or other computer programs to get around the website’s account access control, conceal computer IP addresses, or purchase tickets from credit or debit accounts in the name of anyone other than their corporate officers and employees, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Under the terms, the companies must also maintain records and provide compliance reports to the government.

The three enforcement orders originally entered by the court assessed civil penalties of $11.2 million against Just In Time Tickets, Inc. and Kohanian, $16 million against Concert Specials, Inc. and Steven Ebrani, and $4.4 million against Cartisim Corp. and Simon Ebrani. The enforcement against the three brokers was the first action under the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which aims to prevent ticket brokers from buying large numbers of event tickets and reselling them to customers at inflated prices and prevents the resale of tickets obtained by knowingly circumventing access controls, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

“Those who violate the BOTS Act cheat fans by forcing them to pay inflated prices to attend concerts, theater performances and sporting events,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme. “This Office will spare no effort in prohibiting deceptive practices that harm consumers.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division said the companies are alleged to have cheated the system to the detriment of consumers. “Today’s filing serves notice that the Department of Justice will enforce the Better Online Ticket Sales Act in appropriate cases. We are pleased to work with our partners at the Federal Trade Commission on this and other matters important to consumers.”

The settlements in the cases are allegations only, and there has not been any final determination of liability or wrongdoing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.