DOJ Sues REPS & Co Over Alleged Purchase of 18.5 Million Tickets, Including Beyoncé Shows

Views 6 Published by October 16, 2026

The U.S. Justice Department alleges San Diego-based REPS & Co used bots to buy 18.5 million tickets to concerts and other events and resold them at markups for at least $120.8 million in profit, according to a 22-page lawsuit under the BOTS Act.

Federal prosecutors allege that REPS & Co, a San Diego-based entertainment company, used bots and other illegal means to buy millions of tickets to high-demand events, including concerts by Beyoncé, Post Malone, Pitbull and Luke Bryan, and resold them in bulk, often against artists’ wishes.

In a 22-page lawsuit, the Justice Department says REPS & Co sidestepped ticket purchase limits for at least 83,000 events. The company allegedly spent more than $1.3 billion on 18.5 million tickets to concerts, Broadway shows, college sporting events and other popular events identified through software as high-demand. It then resold the tickets at markups on StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, Gametime and Ticketmaster’s resale platform, earning at least $120.8 million in profits, prosecutors claim.

Beyoncé and Pitbull concerts cited

Beyoncé, Renaissance tour, Oct. 1, 2023: REPS allegedly used at least 1,300 accounts to buy 7,624 tickets through Ticketmaster. The purchase limit for the concert was between four and eight, prosecutors said, and the company allegedly made approximately $833,323 in profit reselling the tickets.
Pitbull, Sept. 7, 2024, Syracuse, N.Y.: REPS allegedly used at least 700 accounts to buy 5,430 tickets through Ticketmaster. The purchases represented nearly one-third of the capacity of the Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater, and the company allegedly made approximately $120,109 in profit reselling the tickets, according to the lawsuit.

Attempts to reach a spokesperson for REPS were not immediately successful, according to Rolling Stone.

The lawsuit is the latest crackdown under the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, known as the BOTS Act, which bans circumventing ticket purchase limits with technology. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a statement that the Justice Department is “committed to holding accountable individuals and businesses that drive up the cost of event tickets.” He added that the department, working alongside the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will continue to enforce the BOTS Act.