Former Ticketmaster Executive Sentenced for Corporate Espionage
In a significant ruling, a former executive of Ticketmaster has been sentenced after illegally accessing a rival company’s computer servers to steal sensitive information. British national Stephen Mead was found guilty of stealing data from CrowdSurge between 2013 and 2015, contributing to the company’s eventual downfall, as stated by the Department of Justice in New York.
Mead pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy charges related to unauthorized computer intrusions and has been ordered to pay a forfeiture of $67,970, along with a year of supervised release.
Court filings revealed that executives at Ticketmaster had solicited Mead for "competitive intelligence" about CrowdSurge, a smaller ticketing company based in London, which offered pre-sale tickets to fans. At the time of his actions, CrowdSurge had an estimated worth exceeding $100 million.
Mead, who served as CrowdSurge’s Senior Vice President for Global Operations, signed a separation agreement upon leaving the company in July 2012. This agreement prohibited him from sharing confidential information and working for a competitor for one year. However, he breached this agreement multiple times.
By summer 2013, he joined Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation, where his actions included sharing CrowdSurge’s financial data and facilitating unauthorized access to its systems. Prosecution documents noted the extent of his actions, which included advising Ticketmaster employees to extract information from CrowdSurge’s database.
Mead’s conduct not only jeopardized CrowdSurge but also adversely impacted its ability to compete in a tough market, leading to significant financial losses. He later ascended to a director role within Ticketmaster’s artist services division.
The fallout from this case extends beyond Mead, as another former Ticketmaster executive, Zeeshan Zaidi, is also facing charges for conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with these matters.
In a broader context, CrowdSurge’s parent company filed a civil lawsuit against Ticketmaster in 2015, alleging anti-competitive practices aimed at destroying their business. This lawsuit highlighted the competitive tensions within the ticketing industry, which are further complicated by Ticketmaster’s previous legal troubles, including a deferred prosecution agreement reached in 2020 regarding fraud charges.
As the story unfolds, it underscores the ongoing challenges and ethical concerns within the ticketing industry.
