3 Calif. men charged with massive concert ticket fraud face federal court hearing in NJ

3 charged with concert ticket fraud due in court

NEWARK, N.J. — Three men charged with using computer programs to illegally buy more than a million concert tickets for resale are due in federal court in New Jersey on Tuesday.

Kenneth Lowson, Kristofer Kirsch and Joel Stevenson, all of California, face arraignment on conspiracy, wire fraud and other charges in a 43-count indictment unsealed Monday. The wire fraud counts each carry a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

A fourth man, Faisal Nahdi, is overseas and expected to surrender in the next few weeks.

Prosecutors say the company formed by the men, Wiseguy Tickets, used computer programs to bypass safeguards meant to restrict the number of tickets that each customer can buy. The men are accused of reselling tickets to brokers for a profit estimated at $29 million.