Ticket tout 'queen' is broken woman, judge told

A barrister representing a woman behind a multimillion-pound ticket-touting fraud has urged leniency, telling a judge prisons are "almost at breaking point"

Guy Gozem KC told Judge Simon Batiste that Maria Chenery-Woods, whose Norfolk-based firm TQ Tickets sold tickets worth more than £6.5m on secondary ticketing sites over two-and-a-half years, was "broken".

During a sentencing hearing at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday, Mr Gozem argued there was no need to jail her.

Chenery-Woods, who referred to herself as Ticket Queen, is waiting to be sentenced along with her husband, Mark Woods; her sister Lynda Chenery; and Chenery's former husband, Paul Douglas.

Chenery, 52, and Woods, 60, both of Dickleburgh, near Diss, Norfolk, were found guilty of three counts of fraudulent trading earlier this year after a trial.

Chenery-Woods, 54, also of Dickleburgh, and Douglas, 57, of Pulham Market, Norfolk, admitted the same offences.

The judge indicated he would not pass sentence until Friday.

Trial jurors heard how TQ Tickets used multiple identities, some fake, to buy large numbers of tickets for high-profile music events on primary sites, including Ticketmaster.

They were told thaet vents had featured artists including Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and Little Mix.

The firm would then resell tickets - often at vastly inflated prices - on secondary platforms, such as Viagogo.

Prosecutors said one of the identities used was a dead relative of Chenery-Woods and Chenery, and another was a 10-year-old boy.

Mr Gozem said Chenery-Woods had been arrested in December 2017.

He also made an apparent reference to the Ministry of Justice's Operation Early Dawn - an emergency measure to tackle prison overcrowding.

"I invite you to accept that you are sentencing a broken woman who has suffered for her own wrong-doing for more than six years," Mr Gozem told the judge.

"All of this at a time when we're reminded that prisons are more than just full. They are almost at breaking point, as the initiative this morning seems to confirm."

"These are non-violent, non-sexual, non-frightening offences."

Mr Gozem said the offences "do not come anywhere near the top" of the list of those requiring an immediate custodial sentence.

He told the court a pre-sentence probation report had found there was no chance of Chenery-Woods re-offending and no ongoing risk of "harm to the public".

Mr Gozem said Chenery-Woods had been left "completely shattered" and suffered from depression and anxiety, as well as alcoholism and drug dependency.

Jurors heard Chenery-Woods was the driving force behind the company.

They were told the actions of the firm sometimes led to fans being refused entry to venues.

Between June 2015 and December 2017, the firm had sales in excess of £6.5m on secondary ticket platforms.

The firm bought 47,000 tickets during that period, using 127 names and 187 different email addresses.

In a message shown to the jury, Douglas said to Chenery-Woods the purpose of the business was to "simply rinse consumers for as much profit as they are willing to pay".

The jury heard statements from Sheeran's manager Stuart Camp and promoter Stuart Galbraith.

They described the "extensive measures" they went to as they tried to prevent the reselling of tickets at inflated prices for the singer's 2018 UK stadium tour.

Following the verdicts, Mr Galbraith said: "Today's verdict is good news for live music fans, who are too often ripped off and exploited by greedy ticket touts."

Trading standards officials had prosecuted after an investigation.

Lord Michael Bichard, chairman of National Trading Standards, said he hoped the prosecution supported progress towards a "step change" in the secondary ticketing market.