The U.S. Justice Department, acting for the FTC, sued San Diego ticket broker REPS & Company and three of its executives on October 15, 2026, alleging they used thousands of accounts and masked IP addresses to evade Ticketmaster and AXS purchase limits and resell more than 18.5 million tickets for at least $120.8 million in profit. REPS denies using bots; the government seeks civil penalties and a court order, and there is nothing for ticket buyers to claim.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a lawsuit filed by the federal government. The statements below are unproven allegations. REPS & Company and its executives have not been found liable, and there is nothing for consumers to claim. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is the Lawsuit Against REPS About?
The Department of Justice’s Civil Division filed the complaint on October 15, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, after the Federal Trade Commission notified and referred the matter to it. The Commission voted 2-0 to refer the case. It is United States v. REPS & Company, Inc. et al., No. 3:26-cv-05895.The defendants are REPS & Company, Inc., a California corporation based in San Diego that buys tickets from ticket issuers and resells them on the secondary market, and three of its officers, each sued individually and as an officer and manager: Chief Executive Officer Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Totagrande.
The complaint brings a single count under the Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016, known as the BOTS Act, and Section 5 of the FTC Act. The BOTS Act makes it unlawful to circumvent a security measure, access control system or other technological control that a ticket issuer uses to enforce posted ticket purchase limits, and to sell tickets obtained that way when the seller took part in the conduct or knew or should have known about it. Despite its name, the law is not limited to automated bots.
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What Does the Government Allege?
According to the complaint, between January 2022 and October 2025 REPS bought more than eight tickets from Ticketmaster and AXS for at least 83,000 separate events, spending more than $1.3 billion to amass more than 18.5 million tickets; the FTC’s announcement puts the event count at 83,500. The government says the targets were high-demand events likely to sell out, including concerts, music festivals, comedy shows, professional and college sports, rodeos and Broadway and touring theater, where issuers often limit buyers to four to eight tickets. It alleges REPS resold the tickets at a significant markup on StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Gametime, Ticket Network and Ticketmaster’s resale marketplace, making at least $120.8 million in profit.The complaint gives two examples. For Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on October 1, 2023, where the purchase limit was between four and eight tickets, it alleges REPS used at least 1,300 accounts to buy 7,624 tickets through Ticketmaster and made about $833,323 reselling them. For a Pitbull concert at the Empower FCU Amphitheater on September 7, 2024, it alleges REPS used at least 700 accounts to buy 5,430 tickets, nearly one-third of the venue’s estimated 17,500 capacity, and made about $120,109.
How Does the Complaint Say REPS Got Around Ticket Limits?
The government alleges that REPS employs a team of ticket purchasers, most of them based in the Philippines, who buy on accounts REPS controls. It says REPS signs “power of attorney” agreements with employees and third parties that let it open ticketing accounts in their names, then pairs those names with email addresses, phone numbers and virtual credit cards it supplies, creating as many as 40 accounts from one person’s name and address and an average of 19. The complaint also describes SIM banks holding dozens of SIM cards to receive verification codes, slight changes to addresses after purchases were blocked, and VPNs, rotating proxy services and multi-session browsers that let purchasers queue in several browser tabs at once and mask their location. It says REPS kept an internal “Error Bible” of Ticketmaster error messages and workarounds.The complaint further alleges that REPS knew about the BOTS Act, listed it as a law applicable to the company on a 2022 audit questionnaire and told vendors and lenders it complied, while continuing the same practices. These are allegations that no court has decided.
What Is the Government Asking For?
The complaint asks the court for a permanent injunction against future violations, monetary relief, and civil penalties for each violation of the BOTS Act. It does not state a penalty total, and it demands a jury trial. The complaint does not describe any refund or fund for people who bought resold tickets, so there is nothing for ticket buyers to file. In announcing the case, the FTC said it will be decided by the court.Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in the announcement that “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.”
How Has REPS Responded?
REPS denies the allegations. President Brian Archibald told TicketNews that the company is committed to complying with the BOTS Act and that bots, false identities and fabricated accounts should be stopped, adding, “REPS does not do any of that.” He said, “As the lawsuit admits, we use real people, using real accounts, to purchase tickets. We never use bots,” and argued that the government’s theory works only if the goal is “destroying the secondary market for event tickets,” which he said would harm consumers. “More importantly, it is not the law,” he said. “We look forward to presenting our case in court.”Other BOTS Act Cases
The complaint points to two earlier FTC cases under the same law: one filed August 18, 2025 against ticket broker Key Investment Group in federal court in Maryland, and one filed September 18, 2025 against Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster in federal court in Los Angeles, which alleges that Ticketmaster violated the BOTS Act. Those cases are separate from the REPS suit, and the defendants in them have not been found liable. Private class actions over ticket fees are tracked on OCA’s Ticketmaster fee class action page.Questions
What is ticket broker REPS accused of?
The federal complaint alleges REPS & Company used thousands of accounts opened in other people’s names, virtual credit cards, SIM banks and masked IP addresses to get around Ticketmaster and AXS purchase limits, buying more than 18.5 million tickets for at least 83,000 events and reselling them for at least $120.8 million in profit. REPS denies the allegations, and no court has ruled.
Who are the defendants in the REPS lawsuit?
The defendants are REPS & Company, Inc., a San Diego ticket broker, and three of its officers: CEO Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and COO Nicholas Totagrande, each sued individually and as an officer and manager of the company.
What is the BOTS Act?
The Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 makes it unlawful to circumvent security measures or other technological controls that ticket issuers use to enforce posted ticket purchase limits, and to sell tickets obtained that way. A violation is treated as an unfair or deceptive practice under the FTC Act, which allows civil penalties.
Can ticket buyers get money from the REPS lawsuit?
Not now. The case is a government enforcement action, not a class action, and the complaint does not describe any refund or fund for ticket buyers. It seeks an injunction, monetary relief and civil penalties.
Sources
• Federal Trade Commission press release (October 15, 2026) and case page• Complaint, United States v. REPS & Company, Inc. et al., No. 3:26-cv-05895 (S.D. Cal., filed October 15, 2026)
• TicketNews, including REPS’ statement
• Pollstar (October 16, 2026)
