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Guilty Plea In StubHub Cybertheft
A ringleader of the group that fraudulently bought some of the hottest tickets in music, sports and theater by sneaking into StubHub users’ accounts pleaded guilty June 20 in a scheme involving more than $1 million worth of tickets.
Vadim Polyakov could get up to 12 years in prison in connection with his plea to charges of money laundering and possessing stolen property. He admitted coordinating an international operation that took over StubHub accounts, used the account-holders’ credit card information to buy sought-after seats and resold them to pocket the money.
His reportedly global network of hackers, identity thieves and money launderers trafficked in tickets to Broadway shows, concerts by artists such as Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z and seats behind the
Prosecutors said the scheme involved more than 1,000 StubHub accounts and 3,500 tickets worth at least $1.6 million, including some tickets that went for nearly $1,000 apiece. StubHub has said it was alerted to the thefts by customers, contacted authorities and gave refunds to the affected account-holders.
Nine others around the world have also been indicted in the case, though some have yet to be arrested. Others have pleaded not guilty.