Burlington Woman Arrested in Taylor Swift Ticket Fraud Case

She used the alias "Denise Blackhawk" while selling the tickets on Facebook Marketplace, scamming at least 28 victims out of nearly $70,000

Photo: Matt Forsythe

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Nov 26, 2024

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) is investigating a series of ticket frauds for Taylor Swift's ongoing six-night Eras Tour run in Toronto.

UPDATE (11/26, 9:42 a.m. ET): As CBC reports, Toronto police have now arrested a Burlington woman in connection with the case. They allege that she used the alias "Denise Blackhawk" on Facebook Marketplace and had victims e-transfer her the agreed-upon amount for the tickets, which she promised would be sent at a later date (she initially started running the scam when tickets for the Toronto Eras Tour concerts first went on sale in 2023). 

Scamming a total of nearly $70,000 out of 28 victims, the accused is being charged with 32 counts of fraud under $5,000, as well as possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000. She also faces a single count of fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

The Burlington woman is scheduled to appear in court on January 10. Toronto police — who are working on the case in collaboration with Halton police — believe there are still more victims, and are asking anyone who believes they may have purchased a fraudulent ticket is to contact them.

UPDATE (11/18, 3:26 p.m. ET): As per CBC, scam victim Melinda Tarantino spent over $3,000 on tickets for her and her two daughters, nine and 11, to see Swift this weekend. She had purchased last month from someone a friend had connected her with, who had appeared to be a local woman. 

When she found out last week that the tickets likely weren't real, Tarantino created an online form for other victims to collect their experiences and share information with the local authorities. She told the outlet that over the past few days, she's heard from nearly 160 people who were under the impression they had purchased a total of 420 Eras Tour tickets from a person who used the same name.

As CityNews Toronto reports, police began receiving complaints last Thursday (November 14) — the first night of the pop star's Rogers Centre concerts — from customers about tickets they had purchased not being delivered, amounting to approximately 40 reports of fake or nonexistent tickets sold by the same vendor.

The estimated value for the fraudulent Eras Tour tickets is $70,000, HRPS said. They added that their Financial Crimes Unit continues to investigate, and that no arrests have been made as of yet.

Possibly not coincidentally, Peel Regional Police (PRP) identified a suspect accused of selling fraudulent tickets to music and sporting events in the GTA last week. An arrest warrant was issued for Jaspal Singh Thiara, 37, whom a PRP spokesperson warned may be still actively seeking additional victims in his fraud scheme amid Swift's hot-ticket residency, which continues through November 23.

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