Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
35%
6 of 17 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
A California ticket broker is facing a federal lawsuit allegedly spending more than a billion dollars to amass millions of tickets to Beyoncé and Post Malone concerts, among other big-name acts, to resell at exorbitant prices.
uncertain
broker → face → prices
The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday that they sued San Diego-based REPS & Company, which describes itself as a “data and technology centric company in the entertainment industry.”
asserted
which → announce → industry
The company and its executives — CEO Ryan Pancheri, President Brian Archibald and COO Nicholas Totagrande — are accused of violating the the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which outlaws anyone from circumventing a website’s online limits on the number of tickets purchased.
asserted
which → accuse → tickets
“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.
asserted
Shumate → commit → Division
“Working alongside the FTC, we will continue to enforce the BOTS Act to protect consumers from such conduct.
asserted
we → work → conduct
According to the complaint, since 2022 REPS has purchased more than the ticket limit for at least 83,500 events, many of them in high demand, including concerts by Beyoncé, Luke Bryan and Post Malone.
uncertain
REPS → accord → Beyoncé
The company spent more than $1.3 billion to amass more than 18.5 million tickets for the events, generating at least $120.8 million in profit by reselling them on platforms like Stubhub, SeatGeek and other secondary marketplaces, prosecutors claimed.
asserted
prosecutors → spend → Stubhub
The FTC highlighted one example in which REPS allegedly generated $833,000 in profit by using 1,300 accounts to purchase 7,624 tickets to just one Beyoncé Renaissance tour concert in Kansas City in 2023.
uncertain
REPS → highlight → 2023
“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,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
asserted
Mufarrige → focus → Protection
The company bypassed ticket-purchasing limits on Ticketmaster and other sites by using a team of mostly Philippines-based employees to purchase tickets through accounts created with names, addresses or phone numbers belonging to other people, the feds claimed.
asserted
feds → bypass → people
The company allegedly used IP proxy services and multi-session browsers that mask the identity and location of the account user.
uncertain
that → use → user
It allegedly had agreements with its employees and third-party partners authorizing the company to use their names and addresses to establish accounts with ticket issuers to create multiple accounts.
uncertain
It → have → accounts
“Defendants’ actions injured consumers who otherwise may have been able to purchase those tickets in the first instance from ticket issuers at lower prices,” the complaint read.
uncertain
complaint → injure → prices
The California Post contacted REPS for comment.
asserted
Post → contact → comment
California lawmakers have attempted to crack down on shady ticket selling practices, including introducing two bills this year that would ban speculative sales for seats that sellers don’t actually own and cap resales at 10%.
asserted
sellers → attempt → %
Both faced scrutiny for potentially favoring Ticketmaster.
asserted
Both → face → Ticketmaster
The first bill was signed into law, while the latter was killed.
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asserted
latter → sign → newsletters
The Aporia
