Maria Chenery-Woods, known as the 'Ticket Queen', has been jailed for four years after running a fraudulent ticket scheme that fleeced fans of Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and other major artists. The 54-year-old from Norfolk was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court alongside three other touts after an investigation by the National Trading Standards (NTS) e-crime unit.
The court heard that the gang used multiple deceitful tactics to buy tickets from primary sellers such as Ticketmaster and Eventim, then resold them on sites like Viagogo and StubHub for up to 500% above face value. In total, the scheme involved tickets worth more than £6.5m. Judge Batiste said Chenery-Woods had 'acted out of greed' to 'rinse or fleece' fans.
During the investigation, codenamed Operation Zebedee, messages revealed defendants referring to customers as 'idiots' and boasting about 'rinsing' buyers. The gang also engaged in speculative selling of non-existent tickets, covering up failures by sending fake postal trackers and empty envelopes. Sheeran's promoter Stuart Camp gave evidence, saying the sentences send a strong message to protect music fans.
Chef Paul Douglas, 56, admitted fraud and was jailed for 27 months. Mark Woods, 60, and Lynda Chenery, 51, were found guilty of fraudulent trading; Woods received a two-year suspended sentence, and Chenery a one-month suspended sentence. The NTS chair Michael Bichard said the case was a milestone in combating online ticket touts. Viagogo stated it cooperates with authorities and has safety measures in place.
