The Federal Trade Commission has sued ticket reseller Key Investment Group for using thousands of bogus Ticketmaster accounts to circumvent purchasing limits and resell tickets at inflated prices, including for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour concerts.

The Baltimore-based company, which operates ticket resale sites including TotalTickets.com, used fake and purchased Ticketmaster accounts to evade restrictions and acquire large quantities of tickets for popular events, according to a complaint filed in Maryland federal court on Monday.

For a single Taylor Swift concert in Las Vegas in March 2023, Key Investment Group and its affiliates used 49 different accounts to purchase 273 tickets, circumventing Ticketmaster’s 6-ticket purchase limit and generating more than $182 thousand in resale revenue.

The company earned over $1.8 million reselling 2,280 Swift concert tickets it purchased throughout 2023.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the lawsuit serves notice that the agency will pursue ticket sellers who circumvent platform limits.

The legal action forms part of a broader crackdown on exploitative ticket reselling practices announced by President Trump in March, aimed at reducing costs for fans.

The case highlights ongoing tensions in the ticket resale market following Ticketmaster’s heavily criticised handling of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ticket sales in 2022.

Billions of requests from fans, bots, and resellers overwhelmed Ticketmaster’s website, forcing the company to cancel planned general public sales.

Key Investment Group disputes the allegations, with a spokesperson stating that the FTC has “twisted the intent of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act” and used it as “a weapon against legitimate businesses and consumers.”

The company maintains its ticket purchases did not use automated software or violate the BOTS Act.

Key Investment Group previously sued the FTC in July to block the agency’s investigation, arguing that the BOTS Act targets malicious software rather than legitimate resale activities.

The company claims the FTC intends to “shut down the entire secondary-ticket market” through expanded interpretation of existing legislation.

The FTC has accused Key Investment Group and three executives of violating both the BOTS Act and the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive business practices.

The charges represent the agency’s effort to establish broader enforcement authority over ticket resale practices.

Meanwhile, Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment face separate antitrust litigation from US enforcers alleging monopolisation of live concert industry markets, highlighting systemic concerns about competition and consumer access in the ticketing ecosystem.