FTC and DOJ sue ticket broker REPS over 18.5 million tickets bought past limits

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.

Key facts

What was filed: On October 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), acting on a referral from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), sued ticket broker REPS & Company, Inc. and three of its executives.
The case: United States v. REPS & Company, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-05895, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Who is accused: REPS, a San Diego company, along with CEO Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Totagrande.
The claim: The government says the defendants violated the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act by getting around ticket sellers' purchase limits.
The numbers alleged: More than 8 tickets bought for at least 83,500 events, more than $1.3 billion spent on more than 18.5 million tickets, and at least $120.8 million in profit from resale.
What the government wants: A permanent court order, civil penalties and monetary relief.
Status: These are allegations only. The DOJ says there has been no determination of liability.
For fans: This is a government enforcement case, not a class action. No refund or claim process exists.

What the government filed

The DOJ filed a complaint on October 15, 2026 against REPS & Company, Inc., a California ticket broker, and three of its top executives. The DOJ filed on behalf of the FTC after the Commission voted 2-0 to refer the case.

The government says that since 2022, REPS routinely got around the controls that ticket sellers use to limit how many tickets one buyer can purchase. It then resold those tickets on the secondary market, which is the resale market where fans buy tickets from other people rather than from the original seller.

"The Justice Department is committed to holding accountable individuals and businesses that drive up the cost of event tickets by illegally exceeding ticket purchase limits and reselling those unlawfully obtained tickets with exorbitant markups," said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ's Civil Division.

These are allegations

The DOJ's announcement says the claims in the complaint "are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability." REPS and its executives have not yet filed a response in court.

Who the parties are

The United States. The DOJ's Civil Division brought the case. The trial team is Assistant Director Marcus P. Smith and Trial Attorneys Meredith L. Reiter and Austin T. Mendes of the Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch, working with the FTC.

The Federal Trade Commission. The FTC enforces consumer protection laws, including the BOTS Act. When the FTC seeks civil penalties, it often refers the case to the DOJ to file in court. That is what happened here.

REPS & Company, Inc. REPS is a ticket broker, a business that buys event tickets from ticket sellers and resells them at a higher price. The complaint says it is a California corporation based in San Diego and that it was formed in 2017, about a year after the BOTS Act became law.

The individual defendants. The complaint names Ryan Pancheri, REPS's chief executive officer; Brian Archibald, its president and former chief operating officer; and Nicholas Totagrande, its current chief operating officer. Each is sued individually and as an officer of REPS. The complaint says all three oversee or take part in the company's ticket buying and resale.

Ticket sellers named in the complaint. The complaint describes Ticketmaster and AXS as primary ticket sellers whose limits REPS allegedly evaded. Neither company is a party to the case. The complaint also names resale platforms, including StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Gametime, Ticket Network and Ticketmaster's resale marketplace, as places where tickets were resold. None of those platforms is accused of wrongdoing.

Ticket limits and the BOTS Act explained

When tickets go on sale for a popular concert or game, the primary seller often sets a limit, such as four or eight tickets per buyer. The goal is to give more fans a fair chance to buy at face value.

Congress passed the BOTS Act in December 2016. 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." It also bars selling tickets obtained that way if the seller took part in the violation or knew or should have known about it. Under the law, a BOTS Act violation counts as an unfair or deceptive practice under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which allows civil penalties.

Despite its name, the BOTS Act is not limited to automated software. The complaint focuses on many methods, including fake or borrowed identities, as ways to get past the sellers' controls.

What the complaint alleges

According to the complaint, REPS bought more than 18.6 million tickets in more than 3.1 million transactions. It says REPS bought more than eight tickets for at least 83,500 events, spending more than $1.3 billion on more than 18.5 million tickets to those events and making at least $120.8 million in profit. An earlier paragraph of the complaint says "at least 83,000" events for January 2022 through October 2025. The FTC and DOJ announcements use the 83,500 figure.

The government says REPS used a long list of methods to look like many separate buyers:

Borrowed identities. The complaint says most of REPS's ticket purchasers are based in the Philippines. It says REPS signed "power of attorney" agreements with employees and third-party partners that let it open seller accounts in their names, then added its own email addresses, phone numbers and card numbers. It alleges REPS created as many as 40 accounts from one person's name and address, and 19 on average.
Account automation. The complaint says REPS used Broker Genius Inc., which does business as Automatiq, to fully automate the creation of hundreds of accounts.
Phone numbers and payment cards. According to the complaint, REPS used thousands of SIM cards in SIM banks, which are devices that hold dozens of SIM cards at once, to receive the verification codes sellers text to account phone numbers. It also allegedly swapped in virtual credit card numbers when it suspected a card had caused a block.
Altered addresses. When Ticketmaster showed what REPS called a "limit error," the complaint says, REPS created new accounts or slightly changed details such as the spelling of an address. It says the company kept an internal guide it called the "Error Bible" with instructions for working around Ticketmaster's ticket limit controls.
Hiding locations and devices. The complaint says REPS used VPNs, rotating IP proxy services and multi-session browsers, naming PrimoBrowser, Multilogin and Insomniac. It says that in February 2025, REPS purchasers waited in sale queues in 8 browser tabs on average, and some opened at least 15.

The complaint also says REPS tracked the sellers' countermeasures. It alleges that REPS found a new AXS verification step around March 2025 caused a 40 percent slowdown in its purchases, which it decided it could avoid with proxy IP addresses. It also says REPS learned in September 2025 that Ticketmaster had begun flagging accounts whose IP addresses changed too often.

The government also says REPS knew enforcement was coming. The complaint says REPS listed the BOTS Act as a law that applied to it on a 2022 audit questionnaire. It also says the company learned of the FTC's investigation of ticket broker Key Investment Group in July 2025, before the FTC sued that company in federal court in Maryland on August 18, 2025, and of the FTC's September 2025 lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

No refund program exists

The complaint asks for monetary relief, but no court has ordered any payment and there is no claim process for fans. Be wary of anyone offering to sign you up for REPS refunds.

Two concerts the complaint describes

The complaint gives two examples of how REPS allegedly bought far beyond posted limits.

Beyonce, Kansas City, 2023. For the Renaissance tour concert at Arrowhead Stadium on October 1, 2023, the complaint says REPS used at least 1,300 Ticketmaster accounts to buy 7,624 tickets, even though the limit was four to eight per buyer. It says REPS made about $833,323 in profit on that one show.

Pitbull, 2024. For a concert at the Empower FCU Amphitheater on September 7, 2024, the complaint says REPS used at least 700 accounts to buy 5,430 tickets and made about $120,109 in profit. It says the venue holds an estimated 17,500 people, so REPS bought nearly one-third of its capacity.

"REPS' entire business model is focused on trying to game the ticket-purchasing system in order to obtain as many tickets as possible to resell at inflated prices to consumers," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

What the government is asking for

The complaint asks the court to:

enter a permanent injunction to prevent future violations of the FTC Act and the BOTS Act;
award monetary and other relief within the court's power;
impose civil penalties for each BOTS Act violation; and
grant any other relief the court finds just and proper.

The government demanded a jury trial. The complaint does not state a total penalty amount.

What this means for fans

If you paid resale prices for a sold-out show, this case may sound like it is about you. It is, in a broad sense. The government's theory is that brokers who bypass limits take tickets away from fans at face value and then sell them back at higher prices.

The complaint says consumers were injured because they might otherwise have bought those tickets from the original sellers at lower prices. But this is not a class action, and fans are not parties to it. The complaint asks for monetary relief, but whether any money would ever be returned to ticket buyers, and how, is not known.

For cases where consumers can actually file a claim, see our list of class action cases you can join. We have also covered recent ticketing disputes, including a SeatGeek ticket fee settlement in Nevada.

Buying resale tickets now

The case does not change how resale platforms work today. Compare the total price with fees before you buy, and buy from the primary seller first when you can.

What happens next

REPS and its executives will need to respond to the complaint, either by answering it or by asking the court to dismiss it. The FTC notes that it refers a civil penalty case to the DOJ when it has "reason to believe" the defendants are violating or about to violate the law, and that "the case will be decided by the court." Class Action Pulse will update this story if the court rules or the parties settle.

The case is one of several recent federal actions under the BOTS Act. The complaint itself cites the 2025 cases against Key Investment Group and Live Nation.

Frequently asked questions

What is REPS & Company accused of?

The government says the San Diego ticket broker got around Ticketmaster and AXS purchase limits to buy more than 18.5 million tickets and resell them for at least $120.8 million in profit. These are allegations.

What is the BOTS Act?

The Better Online Ticket Sales Act, passed in December 2016, makes it illegal to get around the security measures and controls ticket sellers use to enforce posted ticket limits.

Who are the individual defendants?

CEO Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Totagrande.

Can I get money back if I bought resale tickets?

Not at this time. No refund program or claim process exists, and this is not a class action.

Which concerts are mentioned?

The complaint highlights a Beyonce Renaissance concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on October 1, 2023, and a Pitbull concert at the Empower FCU Amphitheater on September 7, 2024.

Has REPS responded?

No response had been filed in court as of this article. The DOJ says there has been no determination of liability.