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StubHub sued by client over alleged fraud

Spotlight Ticket Management is suing StubHub in California for allegedly underreporting commissionable transactions.

The company, which licenses software and ticket platforms used by American Express, claims that the secondary ticketing giant and its affiliate Awin Inc, violated federal and state law.

The suit refers to common fraud, tortious interference, violation of the Federal RICO statue, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and violation of California law.

In a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California West Division, Spotlight claims StubHub has been involved in a “years-long campaign” to “under report and misrepresent commissionable transactions” owed to its affiliate network.

Spotlight claims that it directed more than $84m in sales to StubHub, which it says in the suit “accounts for the business of tens of thousands of consumers that, without Spotlight’s involvement, would have been directed to sales channels other than StubHub.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the secondary ticketing site interfered with Spotlight’s contract with American Express.

The suit states: “However, through a pattern of conduct, first involving its internal team and later through its external business partner Awin, StubHub defrauded Spotlight and other members of its affiliate program in order to drive StubHub’s sales while underreporting sales and underpaying commissions, and then engaging in retaliatory conduct towards Spotlight when Spotlight sought to correct this wrong.”