Last Thursday, two individuals, one from Queens and the other from Jamaica, were arrested and charged for their involvement in a cybercrime operation that stole over 900 concert tickets, many of which were for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Shamara P. Simmons, 31, from Jamaica, Queens, and Tyrone Rose, 20, from Kingston, Jamaica, were arraigned on charges of grand larceny, computer tampering, and conspiracy in Queens Criminal Court.
The scheme involved two individuals working at a third-party contractor for StubHub in Kingston, Jamaica, who allegedly stole ticket URLs. These URLs were then sent to Simmons and Rose in Queens, who downloaded the tickets and resold them on StubHub for a profit of over $600,000 over the span of a year. The tickets were primarily for high-profile events, including Taylor Swift’s tour, Adele concerts, Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games, and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz emphasized the exploitation of popular events by the defendants for personal gain, stating that they took advantage of a loophole to steal tickets and resell them at exorbitant prices. The investigation revealed that between June 2022 and July 2023, approximately 350 StubHub orders, totaling nearly 1000 tickets, were intercepted by the cybercrime operation.
The stolen tickets were rerouted to Simmons and Rose, who posted them on StubHub for resale. This illicit operation netted them $635,000 in profits. Katz commended the efforts of her office’s Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency Unit in uncovering the scheme and working with industry partners to combat fraudulent activities and protect consumers.
Simmons and Rose were ordered to return to court on March 7, facing a potential maximum sentence of three to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count. Katz encouraged any Queens residents who may have been victims of cybercrime to reach out to the Cyber Crimes team for assistance. The investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the operation and identify any other potential co-conspirators involved in the ticket scam.
