FTC sues ticket broker accused of cheating limits to hoard high-demand event tickets

WASHINGTON (Gray News) - The Federal Trade Commission is suing a ticket broker accused of using unlawful tactics to buy millions of tickets to popular events.The complaint, filed by the Department of Justice, alleges REPS Company Inc., along with its CEO Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Totagrande, violated the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. The law makes it illegal to “circumvent a security measure, access control system or other technological control or measure on an Internet website or online service that is used by the ticket issuer to enforce posted event ticket limits or to maintain the integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules.”The complaint alleges that since 2022, REPS and its operators used unlawful tactics to bypass ticket issuers’ security measures and exceed posted ticket limits.REPS purchased more than eight tickets for at least 83,500 events — many in high demand and likely to sell out. REPS spent more than $