DOJ and FTC Sue Ticket Resale Company for Alleged BOTS Act Violations

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have filed a civil complaint against REPS & Company Inc., a ticket resale company based in California, and three of its executives. The complaint, announced on October 15, 2026, alleges that the company engaged in unlawful practices to purchase millions of tickets to popular live events, violating the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act.

According to the complaint, REPS & Company Inc. , along with executives Ryan Pancheri, Brian Archibald, and Nicholas Totagrande, allegedly circumvented security measures put in place by ticket issuers to limit the number of tickets that can be purchased for a single event. These measures are designed to ensure equitable consumer access to event tickets.

The complaint was filed in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Alleged Violations and Financial Gains

The complaint details that since 2022, the defendants have allegedly bypassed ticket issuers' controls to purchase tickets in excess of set limits for thousands of events. The defendants reportedly spent more than $1. 3 billion to accumulate over 18.

5 million tickets, which were then resold on the secondary market. This resale activity allegedly generated at least $120. 8 million in profit for the company.

The BOTS Act, which the defendants are accused of violating, prohibits the use of software or other methods to circumvent ticket purchasing limits set by online ticket sellers. The Justice Department emphasized its commitment to enforcing this act to protect consumers from inflated ticket prices due to such unlawful practices.

Legal Proceedings

The lawsuit represents a coordinated effort between the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to address and penalize the alleged misconduct. "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 Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The United States is represented in this case by Assistant Director Marcus P. Smith and Trial Attorneys Meredith L. Reiter and Austin T. Mendes of the Civil Division’s Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch, in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The case will proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, but no further court dates or deadlines have been announced at this time.