CHICAGO — A California woman accused of running a fake event ticket scheme in Illinois is facing a lawsuit by state Attorney Genera Lisa Madigan.
According to the Illinois Attorney General's Office, Kristen Yvette Martin did business under several aliases such as Expo Network and Fanoomies in order to sell tickets to events that did not exist. Martin used social media such as Groupon, Active Network and Shopify to sell tickets to fake events and even used temporary "event" websites so the fake events would look real, the Attorney General's Office said.
In many cases, the locations of the events did not even exist, and Martin paid a deposit to rent spaces but never received the proper permits or failed to paid the remainder due to the event venue, according to Madigan's office.
The attorney general's lawsuit also alleges Martin sold the tickets "as non-refundable and sold only online." Some of the fake events included the "Skull Run Chicago," "Taco Fest Chicago," and the "Chicago Bacon and Beer Fest" and "All-You-Can-Eat Crab Fest."
“Scammers’ outrageous ideas never cease to amaze me,” Madigan said in a statement. “I filed my lawsuit to put an end to the promotion of these fake events and prevent Illinoisans from losing their money.”
Martin took more than $30,000 from customers in Illinois, according to Madigan's office. Madigan seeks full restitution and prohibiting Martin from doing business in the state.