Three of the four suspects in the Wiseguy Tickets computer hacking case pleaded not guilty in federal court in New Jersey Tuesday, March 2, and the alleged owner of the company remained in custody pending a bail hearing scheduled for today.
Kristofer Kirsch posted a $1 million bond, while Joel Stevenson posted a $500,000 bond and both are currently free. Suspect Faisal Nahdi is out of the country and is negotiating his surrender, according to federal prosecutors.
But Kenneth Lowson, the alleged ring leader, could have his bail set at well above $1 million today when he is arraigned, his attorney, Mark Rush, told TicketNews.
“My client is looking forward to vigorously defending himself in this case,” Rush said. “At the end of the day, is this a federal crime or not? We don’t believe it is.”
The four suspects are accused of multiple counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and various cyber crimes for allegedly using computer software programs called “bots” that could worm their way past internet security protocols to obtain thousands of tickets to popular concerts, sporting events and theatrical plays. Tickets to New York Yankees games, performances of the hit musical “Wicked”, and concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Phish, Kenny Chesney and Miley Cyrus were among the events the “Wiseguys” allegedly hit. Among the Web sites where the group allegedly procured large amounts of tickets was Live Nation Entertainment’s Ticketmaster, the world’s dominant ticket company.
Federal prosecutors said Wiseguy Tickets wholesaled tickets to brokers in New Jersey and around the country, and they used “aliases, shell corporations, and fraudulent misrepresentations” to carry out their alleged scheme. But, Rush said his client and the other Wiseguys were simply businessmen who came up with technology that essentially allowed them to get to the head of the digital line for internet tickets, much like fans who used to camp out overnight to be first in line to buy tickets at the box office.
Wiseguy Tickets allegedly generated profits in excess of $25 million by selling more than 1.5 million tickets to other brokers over a several-year period. Federal prosecutors did not say what, if anything, might happen to brokers who bought tickets from the Wiseguys, and a spokesperson for the Newark, NJ U.S. Department of Justice office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Rush said he did not know how many clients Wiseguy Tickets has.
“The cornerstone of the government’s case is about ticket brokering, which my client was doing,” Rush said. The Pittsburgh-based attorney specializes in litigation cases involving media and entertainment, antitrust and trade regulation, commercial disputes and government enforcement. “Congress has not legislated ticket brokering as illegal.”
Rush declined to discuss specifics about how he planned to defend his client, but he does not buy the federal government’s implication that Ticketmaster was a “victim” in the case.
“They sit atop a multi-billion dollar industry, and they have their own ticket brokering operation [TicketsNow and TicketExchange],” he said. “We’re going to look into everything as it relates to this case.”
Rush was quick to add that he understands the daunting task ahead of him. “When the federal government decides to indict you – with the weight of its agencies and vast resources – that is a very fearful prospect, but my client is looking forward to his day in court.”
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The indictment isn’t against ‘ticket brokering’. It is the methods they used, which allegedly involved ‘hacking’ ticketing system security. If this is the case then the tickets were illegally obtained even if they were paid for.
Either way if Wiseguys beat one rap then Ticketmaster will take a private litigation. The cases will run for year and will break Wiseguys. They are finished in ticketing!
ahh you watch, TM will turn out to be directly involved.
If you read all 60 pages of indictment, you will find so many evidences that only TM or Promoter would have access to. Even TM sent them letter to cease their dummy domains and operations and still they ignore it.
either WG’s stopped paying them or once TMs resale site was up and running they decided they didnt need them. There was so much money involved that TM had no choice but to become invloved themselves
Also this is a wake up call for brokers who are even using semi-automated BOTs, so called spinners, that allows a human to type multiple CAPTCHA for multiple search and pays automatically.
This may explain why certain brokers always showed the best inventory in multiple markets, and why it had became impossible to get decent seats. While we know ticketbastard and lienation shared responsibility with withholding tickets on their end, but to learn that wise guys was controlling the rest. Would be interested in seeing if we learn who was wiseguys biggest customers????? Guess we may soon see when the brokers who normally held the best seats in my market, suddenly disappear.
It is situations like this, that give all of us a BAD name and soiled reputations for the ones who do operate with honesty. Personally tired of being labeled a scalper or scum, due to unscrupulous losers like these that damage the reputations of brokers who operate and run reputable businesses. Contrary to the comments some of you may make, not all of us are scum.
To those that purchased from ol kenny, you contributed to Sen. Charles Pascrell wanting to push the BOSS ACT.
So they profit $25million on 1.5million tickets? That is less than $17 per ticket net profit. And these are the BEST seats for high demand concerts that Wiseguys got ahead of the line to buy. $25million is a lot of money of course, but anyone can make $20 per ticket with sell-out shows, why cheat and take the risk?
ticketmaster could just do what pearl jam does with their shows..will call and don’t tell people what they’re getting…or you could just change your web site every day….or you could do will call and restrict geographic area…or you could do any number of very very easy and cost effective ways to restrict ticket sales….BUT…guess what the bands/promoters/artists don’t want this because they need brokers as a scapegoat…they also don’t want to have to foot the bill for restrictions because it cuts into their profits….even though blocking ips and sending legal letters to me would seem a lot more costly than just restricting geographic areas or possibly putting the show on sale the day before an event…..they also don’t want it to be known they hold back huge percentages of tickets so that they can make money on the side or so called official auctions or for their friends or family or for bribes or for payoffs or whatever else goes on with those 20-50% of the total tickets…You can’t complain about some really clever company that made money selling tickets without also looking in the mirror…what bot surreptitiously moves tickets from the public sale at face value into ticketmaster auctions? What bot surreptitiously moves tickets from the on sale into friends/promoters/side money/corrupt box offices hands? A very simple to make one that’s for sure! So after this big long rant who is the real scum the hypocrites or the so-called cheaters?
Honest businessmen don’t have to cover their tracks.
>>BUT…guess what the bands/promoters/artists don’t want this because they need brokers as a scapegoat
If you read indictment it is not against brokers, but so called ‘Cheat’ brokers.
>>even though blocking ips and sending legal letters to me would seem a lot more costly than just restricting geographic areas
Again ‘cheat’ people would attempt to circumvent that as well by using addresses from that area.
>>what bot surreptitiously moves tickets from the public sale at face value into ticketmaster auctions?
That bot is called ‘Promoter’ and ‘Artist’. TM provides that platform for them to achieve best return for their value. Don’t you think Bon Jovi has right to get best price for their best tickets for their best show? Who prevents brokers from bidding on those auctions? As a broker you know true market value, bid, take risk as well and make profit, but do not use real ‘BOT’ to surpass everybody else including fellow brokers.
>>>who is the real scum the hypocrites or the so-called cheaters?
Answer is very simple, somebody bad practice/behavior doesn’t justify other person’s bad practice/behavior. Having said that TM bad behavior doesn’t justify cheating on any brokers part.
It is a time to remind that one big broker out of TX area recently jumped boat from Ticketsnow camp to TN, based on similar allegations from TM and it was a news on this site as well.
Now really people, do you think that the wiseguys are the only ones using bots. hell no! they are so widely used in the ticket industry now that you would have to shut down the whole tm site and do you think just because one company is having some legal issues that the rest of the hundreds of bots out there won’t make up for it. TM should be happy as a pig in **** that there are bots because no one would get tickets with there stupid *** words that no one can read unless you are using a bot.
(This comment was moderated for inappropriate language.)
The cards will fall. With TM cooperating with this prosecution a few of the larger ticket brokers will be exposed. Anybody shreding Wiseguy invoices this week?
>>That bot is called ‘Promoter’ and ‘Artist’. TM provides that platform for them to >>achieve best return for their value. Don’t you think Bon Jovi has right to get best >>price for their best tickets for their best show? Who prevents brokers from bidding >>on those auctions? As a broker you know true market value, bid, take risk as well >>and make profit, but do not use real ‘BOT’ to surpass everybody else including >>fellow brokers.
no one prevents anyone from bidding on the auctions just like no one (until now) prevents anyone from being smart enough to make a computer program. The only difference between Bon Jovi charging $500 for a premium seat on the ticketmaster exchange or through an auction and Wiseguy tickets (or whoever) from buying a Bon Jovi premium seat at $150 with a bot and then selling it for $500 is that Bon Jovi decided not to charge $500 for the seat he originally sold Wiseguys. As far as the public is concerned they are being ripped off either way, the public doesn’t care if they are getting charged $500 by broker xyz or from bon jovi himself..$500 is $500…The even worse thing Bon Jovi is doing now and I think Mccartney is doing it to is placing front row and second row seats in packages at obscene amounts like $2000 ea. and hoping a few idiots buy them…Then as the show gets closer Bon Jovi has lowered these obscenely priced front row type seats to $500 and $350 and is now selling them in the general on sale….So uhhhh who is gauging the consumer?
TM is gonna be right in the middle of it. Do you really think that with these numbers WG’s wasnt get some TM side help?
>>$500 is $500
Your analogy is like a difference between a mother and a father’s wife (mayn’t be a mother).