May 28, 2009
New Jersey may be Bruce Springsteen country, but for three companies accused of false ticket sales, it's Attorney General Anne Milgram who's the real Boss.
Milgram's office filed suit against the ticket sellers for allegedly violating the state's Consumer Fraud Act and Advertising Regulations, through advertising and selling tickets to three upcoming Bruce Springsteen concerts at Giants Stadium before the tickets are available for sale.
Undercover investigators from the Division of Consumer Affairs purchased tickets offered for sale by Select-A-Ticket, Inc., Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., and TicketNetwork, Inc. even though the companies did not possess the tickets, could not provide them at the time of sale, and were not available for purchase until June 1, 2009.
Some tickets offered by Orbitz Worldwide and TicketNetwork are for seats which do not physically exist within Giants Stadium, the lawsuit charges.
"Advertising and selling tickets before they are made available for initial purchase by the public is an outrageous practice," Milgram said. "It is fraud to offer to sell a product that one does not possess, and may never possess, and I am committed to ending this deceptive practice."
Select-A-Ticket is based in Riverdale, N.J. and operates a retail location in the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, N.J. The company, which is owned and operated by Thomas Patania, also maintains a web site to transact ticket sales.
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc., which does business as cheaptickets.com, is based in Chicago.
TicketNetwork, Inc. is based in Connecticut. Orbitz and TicketNetwork are believed to be partners in a joint venture to advertise and resell tickets to events in New Jersey, according to the attorney general's office.
The demand for Springsteen tickets has spawned other shady dealings by ticket sellers. In February Ticketmaster settled a suit accusing it of redirecting consumers to its partner TicketsNow.com in an effort to drive up prices. Earlier this month TicketsNow was accused of ripping off loyal customers.
