Taylor Swift Concert Ticket Scam Lands Woman In Jail

SINGAPORE: Just moments after her release from prison for defrauding fans by selling fake tickets to a concert by Taiwanese artist Eric Chou, a woman found herself slipping back into her old deceptive habits.

This time, however, her victims numbered over 70 enthusiastic supporters of the American pop sensation Taylor Swift.

On Thursday, February 6, Foo Mei Qi, 30, was sentenced to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to a consolidated charge of fraud. Between June 2023 and February 2024, she orchestrated a scheme that swindled 76 individuals out of more than $110,700, convincing them that she was offering tickets for Swift’s concerts through the online marketplace Carousell.

In March 2024, Swift graced Singapore with six performances as part of her highly anticipated Eras Tour—her only stop in Southeast Asia during this leg of the tour.

During the court proceedings, it was not disclosed whether any of Foo’s victims hailed from abroad.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Yohanes Ng detailed how Foo solicited various amounts of money from her victims under the pretence of selling them concert tickets. Once the funds were transferred, she would vanish, leaving her victims in the lurch.

In addition to the 76 deceived fans, Foo also managed to trick three more individuals into purchasing counterfeit concert tickets, collecting a total of $7,780 from them. On the day they attended the concert, they discovered, to their dismay, that their tickets were fraudulent, preventing them from entering the venue.

DPP Ng further revealed that Foo attempted to sell tickets for a Bruno Mars concert in Singapore as well, defrauding three additional victims who transferred over $1,000 to her with the same misplaced trust.

Foo’s criminal activities came to an end on March 11, 2024, when authorities apprehended her following numerous police reports lodged by her victims.

In a moment of candour, Foo admitted that she had used the ill-gotten gains to cover everyday expenses, including meals for herself and her family, medical bills, and even wedding costs.

Regrettably, no restitution has been made to any of the victims affected by her schemes.

In an evocative reference to Taylor Swift’s song “Enchanted” from the album Speak Now, DPP Ng remarked on how the allure of promised tickets to the coveted Singapore leg of Swift’s Eras Tour left innocent fans spellbound and ultimately deceived by Foo’s false assurances.

“Despite having spent a significant amount of time behind bars, she remained undeterred in her exploitation of desperate fans struggling to obtain tickets for concerts, all to fuel her own personal gold rush,” remarked DPP Ng, alluding to a track titled “Gold Rush” from Swift’s *evermore* album.

In her defence, lawyer Viveganandam Devaraj characterized his client’s actions as not the result of a calculated plan but rather the outcome of a “series of unfortunate events.”

This prompted District Judge Paul Chan to interject, questioning, “How can one claim there was no premeditation when she deceived 76 victims?”

Acknowledging the judge’s point, Devaraj conceded that there indeed was a level of premeditation involved and requested the court’s mercy in sentencing.

During the sentencing phase, Judge Chan emphasized that Foo had shown a clear pattern of criminal behaviour, noting that her history as a repeat offender warranted serious consideration.

“The previous punishment failed to dissuade her from engaging in similar misconduct. Her appetite for crime has only grown, leading to more victims and larger sums of money being involved,” he stated.

According to a report by *The Straits Times* in March 2024, at least 960 individuals fell victim to Taylor Swift concert ticket scams, losing over $538,000 within just ten weeks.

A couple of months later, a teenage boy confessed to defrauding three people out of $1,540 by falsely claiming he had tickets for Swift’s concert available for sale.

By November 2024, another case surfaced. A woman received a seven-month prison sentence for scamming six individuals out of more than $2,700 in connection with concerts featuring Swift and Ed Sheeran.

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