The Federal Trade Commission has sued California-based ticket broker REPS & Company, alleging the firm purchased more than 18.5 million tickets for resale by circumventing online purchase limits, generating at least $120.8 million in profits from concerts, sporting events and other live entertainment.
The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice on October 15, 2026, names REPS and three executives: Chief Executive Officer Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Totagrande. The government alleges violations of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and the FTC Act.
According to the federal complaint, REPS spent more than $1.3 billion acquiring the tickets between January 2022 and October 2025. The company allegedly exceeded eight tickets per event for at least 83,000 separate events during that period.
The FTC’s official announcement describes more than 83,500 affected events, a slightly more precise figure than the threshold stated in the complaint’s opening summary.
Federal regulators allege REPS used thousands of purchasing accounts, virtual credit cards, proxy internet addresses and specialized browsing software to get around restrictions imposed by ticketing platforms including Ticketmaster and AXS.
Those restrictions generally limit how many tickets an individual buyer can purchase, particularly for popular events where tickets are likely to sell out quickly.
The complaint alleges that REPS created accounts using employees’ or third parties’ identifying information and used multiple payment methods to make purchases appear to come from different buyers.
Federal authorities also contend that the company employed ticket purchasers, many based in the Philippines, to acquire inventory before ordinary customers could purchase tickets.
The government’s allegations extend beyond the overall ticket volume. For a Beyoncé Renaissance tour concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on October 1, 2023, investigators allege REPS used at least 1,300 accounts to obtain 7,624 tickets through Ticketmaster.
The company allegedly made approximately $833,323 in profit reselling tickets from that concert, according to paragraph 35 of the complaint. A separate example concerns a September 7, 2024, Pitbull concert at the Empower FCU Amphitheater.
The complaint alleges REPS acquired 5,430 tickets through at least 700 accounts, equivalent to approximately 31% of the venue’s stated 17,500-person capacity. The government estimates that those sales generated about $120,109 in profit.
The scale of the alleged activity illustrates the difference between ordinary ticket reselling and the conduct prohibited by federal law.
The BOTS Act targets the circumvention of technological controls used to enforce ticket limits, as well as certain resales of tickets acquired through such violations. Reselling a ticket at a higher price does not, by itself, establish a violation of that federal law.
The alleged $120.8 million in profit is a government claim about the broker’s resale operations, not an established measure of consumer losses or a fine already imposed by a court.
The lawsuit comes amid wider federal scrutiny of ticketing practices. The FTC has also brought a separate Ticketmaster lawsuit involving allegations about ticket prices, purchasing restrictions and the resale marketplace. That proceeding concerns different defendants and separate allegations.
In the REPS case, federal authorities are seeking a permanent injunction, monetary relief and civil penalties. The Justice Department’s case announcement emphasizes that the allegations have not resulted in a determination of liability.
The FTC’s publicly available case record identifies the proceeding as pending. Whether the government can establish the alleged violations, and what financial or operational remedies may follow, will depend on subsequent court proceedings.
