The US Government has sued ticket broker REPS & Company, alleging it dodged purchase limits to buy more than 18.5 million tickets
The US Justice Department filed the complaint on 15 October after a referral from the Federal Trade Commission, in the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
The complaint alleges the San Diego broker spent more than $1.3 billion on over 18.5 million tickets for at least 83,500 events where it bought more than eight tickets, making at least $120.8 million in resale profits. It names REPS, CEO Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and COO Nicholas Totagrande, cites the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and the FTC Act, and seeks a permanent injunction, monetary relief and civil penalties.
The government alleges REPS registered thousands of ticketing accounts in the names of employees or third parties, using virtual credit cards, phone numbers, proxy IP addresses and multi-session browsers, with many purchasers working in the Philippines. An internal document called the Error Bible allegedly catalogued Ticketmaster error messages and ways around blocks. Examples include about 1,300 accounts allegedly buying 7,624 tickets to Beyoncé in Kansas City in October 2023, and at least 700 accounts allegedly buying 5,430 tickets to Pitbull in Syracuse in September 2024, close to a third of the amphitheatre’s capacity.
REPS disputes the allegations. Mr Archibald said the company is fully committed to BOTS Act compliance, denied using bots, false identities or fabricated accounts, and said the government’s theory would harm the secondary market.
The case is separate from the FTC’s September 2025 lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which cited a 2018 Ticketmaster document showing REPS controlled 1,074 accounts. A federal judge rejected Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s bid to dismiss that case in September, and both companies deny the allegations. Resale outlets named in the REPS complaint, including StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Gametime, TicketNetwork and Ticketmaster’s resale marketplace, are not defendants.
