Meningitis Benefit Lures Counterfeiters

An annual meningitis benefit starring Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Wynonna and others at Nashville’s Rocketown January 22nd was marked by a rash of counterfeit tickets being sold on eBay.

The 700-capacity venue sold out the first week tickets went on sale, according to The Tennessean. High demand evidently spawned a raft of counterfeiting, with one woman selling 18 fake tickets on eBay for $500 each, the paper said.

Event director Jill Royka told The Tennessean the woman was caught by organizers and agreed to repay the money.

Another person in the U.K. also allegedly sold fake tickets to the event. According to the paper, eBay said the concert triggered the most fraudulent ticket sale attempts in a three-week period ever.

“You would not believe the amount of time we’ve spent on the phone trying to tell people their tickets are fake and trying to help them get their money back,” Royka told the paper the day before the benefit.

At press time, Pollstar was unable to reach Royka for further comment.