WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission is seeking $300,000 from ticket broker Elite Events and its owners to settle allegations that they used hundreds of accounts, payment methods and concealed internet addresses to evade purchase limits and acquire tickets for more than 2,400 events.
The proposed settlement would impose more than $10.7 million in civil penalties against Elite Events and Tickets LLC, Kevin W. McKerley and Aaron L. Fera. Most of the penalty would be suspended after a $300,000 payment because of the defendants’ reported inability to pay, according to the FTC.
The full amount would become immediately due if the defendants are found to have misrepresented their finances.
Elite Events, which also operates as Smart Scalpers and smartscalpers.com, purchased millions of dollars in tickets before reselling them on secondary markets at higher prices, the agency alleged in a complaint filed in federal court in Georgia.
The conduct violated the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, or BOTS Act, which prohibits circumventing technological controls used by ticket sellers to enforce purchase limits and online ordering rules, according to the FTC.
In one example cited by the agency, Elite Events allegedly used 75 accounts to buy 277 tickets for a Metallica concert at Virginia Tech between September 2024 and March 2025, despite a six-ticket limit.
The company paid between $50 and $270 for each ticket and later offered them for between $100 and $400 on the secondary market, the complaint alleged.
The FTC accused Elite Events of employing hundreds of purchasing agents, including workers based outside the U.S., and supplying them with tools intended to make transactions appear as though they came from unrelated buyers.
Those methods allegedly included accounts created with fictitious or employee information, virtual credit cards capable of generating thousands of card numbers, proxy services that concealed internet addresses and browsers permitting multiple independent purchasing sessions.
Ticket sellers including Ticketmaster and AXS use account verification, credit card information, telephone numbers, email addresses and internet addresses to detect efforts to exceed ticket limits, according to the complaint.
The FTC alleged that McKerley and Fera directly participated in the operation. The agency also cited their appearance in an April 2025 CBS Mornings documentary discussing their resale business and use of software designed to circumvent ticket controls.
“Consumers should be able to purchase tickets to events without having to contend with bad actors who drive up prices,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated.
Under the proposed order, the defendants would be permanently barred from using multiple accounts, internet addresses, browsers or other technological methods to evade ticket limits.
They also would be prohibited from purchasing tickets with payment accounts held in names other than those of Fera or McKerley.
The FTC voted 2-0 to authorize the complaint and stipulated final order, which were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia’s Augusta Division.
The settlement will carry the force of law if approved and signed by a federal judge.
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