Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Touts jailed for fraud over ticket reselling ordered to pay £6.2m

by December 15, 2022
December 15, 2022
Touts jailed for fraud over ticket reselling ordered to pay £6.2m

Two ticket touts who were jailed for fraud related to large-scale ticket reselling have been ordered to pay £6.2m in a confiscation order.

Peter Hunter, 53, and David Smith, 68, were sentenced to prison in February 2020 after a three-month trial in which the married couple were found guilty of fraudulent trading and possessing an article for fraud.

Their case was the first successful prosecution related to large-scale ticket fraud. Together the couple ran BZZ Limited, which they used to buy and resell hundreds of tickets at inflated prices for concerts by musicians including Ed Sheeran, Madness, and McBusted, as well as shows such as the West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

They benefited from their crimes by a total of £8.8m between May 2010 and December 2017, including a net profit of £3.5m in the last 32 months of the fraud. The court on Wednesday gave them three months to pay back the £6.2m or face an additional eight years’ imprisonment, according to National Trading Standards, which carried out the investigation into the fraud.

Hunter was first exposed by a Guardian investigation into touts and their relationship with “secondary ticketing” websites, which allow buyers to resell tickets for events. National Trading Standards began investigating the pair several months later.

Hunter, who was sentenced to four years in prison, and Smith, who was sentenced to 30 months, were found to have used dishonest and fraudulent tactics to purchase multiple tickets from primary ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster, Eventim and AXS. They used tactics such as using other people’s names, addresses and emails to evade detection systems, and automated bots to speed the purchase of tickets in bulk.

They also engaged in “speculative selling”, listing tickets for sale that they did not own at hugely inflated prices, before trying to find them at cheaper prices to make a profit.

Ruth Andrews, National Trading Standards’ regional investigations manager, said: “Today’s result concludes a landmark case that demonstrates once and for all that dishonestly buying large quantities of tickets and reselling them at inflated prices is an unacceptable, illegal and fraudulent practice.

“All too often fans looking to buy tickets to sport events, music concerts and other high-profile events find that official tickets sell out in minutes before reappearing on secondary ticketing sites at vastly inflated prices. This can have a significant financial impact on consumers and I hope this groundbreaking case helps drive long-term changes in the secondary ticketing market.”

Hunter and Smith appealed against their convictions, but they were rejected by the court of appeal in November 2021.

Read more:
Touts jailed for fraud over ticket reselling ordered to pay £6.2m

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Showdown talks over rail strikes planned as country comes to a standstill
next post
Bank of England raises interest rates to 3.5%

You may also like

Biden’s Exit: The Right Move for the Democratic...

July 22, 2024

Developing a Successful Crypto Exchange Website in 6...

July 11, 2025

Yes, it’s great to get PR coverage –...

June 10, 2025

Paris bans e-scooters after mini referendum, could London...

April 3, 2023

Sunak to Allow Oil and Gas Exploration at...

May 3, 2024

Digital adoption in UK SMEs backed by £4.5M...

May 12, 2023

Entrepreneurs secure Dragons’ investment for pioneering Pop Specs...

January 13, 2024

Inflation climbs to 3% as pricier food, flights...

February 19, 2025

Forty percent of female entrepreneurs report gender-based discrimination

April 17, 2024

Elon Musk Secures Shareholder Approval for Historic £44bn...

June 14, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • WATCH: Trump says he is hopeful Hillary Clinton will be investigated for election fraud

      August 1, 2025
    • Trump moves nuclear submarines weeks after praising sub’s power in Iran strikes

      August 1, 2025
    • Recess on ice as Republicans hunker down for high-stakes nominee blitz

      August 1, 2025
    • Iran says it has ‘plenty of scientists’ left to restart uranium enrichment, despite US, Israeli strikes

      August 1, 2025
    • No, Tariffs Are Not Similar to Consumption Taxes Like a VAT

      August 1, 2025
    • Trump repositions 2 nuclear submarines after ‘highly provocative’ Russian comments

      August 1, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,651)
    • Investing (2,168)
    • Politics (16,281)
    • Stocks (3,228)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved