Friday 06/10/2011 by jackl

WISEGUYS GET PROBATION, COMMUNITY SERVICE

We reported a while back about Wiseguys Tickets, the guys who used Bulgarian hackers to defeat the TM capcha system and scoop up all the Hampton Reunion tickets at onsale, as well as Springsteen's and other concert and sporting events.

Yesterday, the linchpins were sentenced in NJ federal court, but surprisingly, didn't get the maximum five year prison terms of the crimes for which they were convicted, but a relative slap on the wrist more like an illegal lot vending rap, perhaps because of the novelty (and weakness?) of the government's case:

"Kenneth Lowson, 41, and Kristofer Kirsch, 38, both of Los Angeles, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and exceed authorized access to computers engaged in interstate commerce, for which they received two years probation and 300 hours of community service.

Joel Stevenson, 38, of Alameda, Calif., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of exceeding authorized access to computers engaged in interstate commerce and was sentenced to one year of probation."

Their Bulgarian hacker counterparts are still at large.

Source: Sofia, Bulgaria News Agecy 6/10/11 (no kidding)

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Comments

, comment by hewins
hewins Oh man. I have say I really, really hate scalpers.
, comment by Ifthir
Ifthir And this is why scalping still is rampant, because even in the event you bust a large-scale organization, with hard evidence, they still get a slap on the wrist.

Makes me ill.
, comment by mellifluouslife
mellifluouslife This sentence is a joke...these snakes drove the Hampton ticket prices through the roof. They should release the three of them to the fans!
, comment by pinto4598
pinto4598 they'll do it again and get caught again
, comment by GnarnianRanger
GnarnianRanger The federal sentencing guidelines are ludicrous across the board. These guys are steal from an already suffering music industry on a massive scale and get to go home to their beds, but god forbid you catch a couple of minor possession charges, you can bet your ass you're gonna see the pokey.
, comment by TNTNeal
TNTNeal The actions of these scalpers is reprehensible, but having been to state prison for $20 worth of blow at the age of 18 myself, I don't wish that upon anyone but society's severe offenders. The sentences meted out in that NJ court are too light, no doubt, but five years in prison would be absurdly unjustified. I don't know why anyone would find them not getting the max surprising in this situation. I wouldn't even agree with one year IF this is their first offense. I would have been happy with five year probation sentences and reparations paid to non-profits such as the Mockingbird Foundation. That would have been half a Decade of supervision. Let's be real, their actions in obtaining their tickets were illegal, but they didn't actually actually steal anything. They paid for the tickets they got and then grossly I inflated the retail price paid by the end-user. Exxon does the same thing to us every day at the pump and the Feds aren't doing shit about them, either.
, comment by jackl
jackl I can emphasize with your aversion to our medieval prison system @TNTNeal and respect your candor in sharing that.

But, at the same time, don't you think it's ironic that the Wiseguys get community service and probation and you got the book thrown at you for a penny ante drug offense, and others (i.e., the bankers and economists "featured" in "Inside Job" ;) skate entirely?
, comment by GnarnianRanger
GnarnianRanger @jackl said:
Wiseguys get community service and probation and you got the book thrown at you for a penny ante drug offense, and others (i.e., the bankers and economists "featured" in "Inside Job" ;) skate entirely
Exactly. In my opinion all federal sentencing guidelines are far too strict and inordinately focused on retribution as opposed to rehabilitation. But if they're gonna throw the book at anyone why not crooks like this who demonstrate dispicable greed and utter contempt for the legal system. Seems like splitting hairs to say these guys didn't steal. They illegally cornered the market, set their own obscene prices and pocketed the margin. It's no different from what Enron did IMO. Not saying the deserved the max, but they certainly didn't deserve leniency.
, comment by MiguelSanchez
MiguelSanchez fuck me in the ass! that's what i got for selling beer at deer creek. these dicks made millions. i made next to nothing. i hope, at the very least, they stripped them of some very serious assets.
, comment by Thisisnotafish
Thisisnotafish Pshh, treat these guys like computer hackers.

If Ticketmaster had a spine/cared about people who bought tickets from them, they could've gone after them personally. But once again TM just rolls over and says that the probation and slight garnish on their overwhelming profit was good enough. I say treat these guys like hackers, they bypassed security and used bots and computer farms to order tickets.

They technically really didnt "steal" anything, the ticket companies and band still got their money. But they did use unethical practices to give themselves an advantage at buying tickets.
, comment by GnarnianRanger
GnarnianRanger @Thisisnotafish said:
They technically really didnt "steal" anything, the ticket companies and band still got their money. But they did use unethical practices to give themselves an advantage at buying tickets.
They stole from the consumers (us), not the suppliers (the band) or retailers (TM). And it was more than just unethical, it was illegal.
, comment by NextMovement41
NextMovement41 those bastards.
, comment by fluffyfluffyhead157
fluffyfluffyhead157 WTF, such bullshit slap on the wrist, it only encourages these fuckers to go out next time and do twice as much. I live in L.A., I'd like to run into these fuckers and beat the shit out of them. I had to pay $150 to see Trey play at the Music Box. Myself and three other friends tried the pre sale and the sale; no luck, wonder why. I had to see Trey I had no choice but to pay the fuckers.
, comment by curleyfrei
curleyfrei WHAT THE FUCK
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