Four people have been jailed for using fraudulent tactics to purchase and resell hundreds of tickets at hugely inflated prices for events and concerts such as Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga.
Maria Chenery-Woods (54), Mark Woods (60), Lynda Chenery (51) and Paul Douglas (56) – all from Norfolk – were sentenced to a combined total of six years and five months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court, earlier today (17 May).
The four defendants ran multi-million-pound limited company TQ Tickets, which they used to purchase hundreds of tickets for events and concerts by the likes of Gary Barlow, Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller and Little Mix.
The trial heard the firm sold tickets worth more than £6.5 million (€7.6m) over the course of two-and-a-half years.
An investigation by the National Trading Standards eCrime team found that the defendants used multiple deceitful and fraudulent tactics to acquire multiple tickets from reputable sellers including Ticketmaster, Eventim, SEE Tickets and ACS.
They used fake identities to resell the tickets at significantly higher prices – up to 500% above the original cost – on secondary ticketing sites such as Viagogo, Seatwave, Stubhub and Getmein.
“Today’s sentencing marks another significant milestone in our work to combat online ticket touts”
The defendants were also involved in ‘spec selling’ – where non-existent tickets are sold to consumers at inflated prices. When they couldn’t fulfil the purchases, the defendants tried to cover it up by providing fake postal trackers and sending empty or torn envelopes to make it appear as if the tickets had been sent and lost in the post.
“Today’s sentencing marks another significant milestone in our work to combat online ticket touts, which has already resulted in landmark prosecutions, and sends a clear message that criminals trying to rip off honest fans risk prosecution,” says Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards.
Mark Woods and Lynda Chenery were found guilty of fraudulent trading on 13 March 2024. Maria Chenery-Woods and Paul Douglas entered guilty pleas earlier in the process.
Maria Chenery-Woods today received four years imprisonment and is disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.
Mark Woods was handed down two years imprisonment and suspension for two years. In addition, he is disqualified from being a company director for four years, required to undertake 250 hours of unpaid work and must adhere to an electronic curfew for four months between the hours of 8 pm and 6 am.
Lynda Chenery was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and suspension for two years. She is disqualified from being a company director for three years and complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of rehabilitation.
Paul Douglas received two years and five months imprisonment and is disqualified from being a company director for six years.
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