Football ticket scammer sent to prison

HOUSTON, TX -- A 49-year-old California resident has been sentenced for orchestrating a ticket scam across the United States that included a Texas A&M football game, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Derrick Langford pleaded guilty Aug. 24, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge has now ordered Langford to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by one year of supervised release.

“For years, Langford engaged in a multi-level fraud,” said Hamdani. “In doing so, he victimized identity theft victims, unsuspecting internet buyers and, ultimately, the venues, from football stadiums to music arenas, who bore the monetary loss. But the perceived anonymity of the internet did not protect him. His scheme unraveled thanks to the efforts of the 12th Man Foundation at Texas A&M University.

At the time of his plea, Langford admitted he used email to obtain stolen credit card information from victims across the United States. He used that data and false identities to buy tickets for sporting events, concerts and other entertainment venues nationwide. He then re-sold the tickets on internet-based resale sites like Ticket Liquidator.

One such event tied to Langford was the Texas A&M football game against Clemson Sept. 8, 2018. At the time of the plea, Langford admitted he created false buyer accounts and used stolen credit card numbers to buy tickets to that game and then resold the fraudulently purchased tickets on resale sites to unsuspecting buyers.

Texas A&M discovered the fraud and invalidated the tickets. However, some tickets had already been sold to unsuspecting buyers which caused the university to incur a 100% loss on the fraudulent tickets.

As the scheme continued, Langford received stolen credit card information and personal identifying information of more than 75 victims in one of his email accounts.

Langford was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas A&M University Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Quincy Ollison and Belinda Beek prosecuted the case.