A former Ticketmaster boss who illegally accessed a rival company’s computer servers to steal information has been sentenced.
British national Stephen Mead stole sensitive data from CrowdSurge – a smaller business he had previously worked for – between 2013 and 2015. His actions directly contributed to the company’s collapse, the Department of Justice, in New York, said.
Mead pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusions against CrowdSurge, in June. He has now been ordered to pay $67,970 as a forfeiture (about £52,000), and sentenced to a year’s supervised release.
Court papers filed in the US state Ticketmaster executives had asked Mead to share “competitive intelligence” about the company.
Ticketmaster – which describes itself as the world’s biggest entertainment ticketing platform – did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Another former Ticketmaster executive, Zeeshan Zaidi, also pleaded guilty to fraud charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and wire fraud in 2019. He is yet to be sentenced.
Mead was ordered to pay back a sum he received when he left CrowdSurge, as well as the pay rise he subsequently received at Ticketmaster.
A Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC: “We are providing consular assistance to a British man in the US and are in contact with the local authorities.”
