Five men sentenced for £1m Liverpool ticket fraud as defence claims players were involved

Five men have been sentenced for their part in a Liverpool ticket fraud scheme worth an estimated £500,000 to £1m. Two of the convicted men worked in the club's ticket office.

The sentences

1. Joseph Johnson, 42: 4 years 6 months in prison – described as the "mastermind"
2. Louis James, 37: 2 years 4 months – former ticket office worker
3. Liam Rice, 36: 2 years 10 months
4. Lee Smith, 38: 2 years 10 months
5. James Johnson, 34: 21 months suspended – former ticket office worker

How the scheme operated

The group ran their operation – dubbed the "Amazon" of ticket touting – from a rented office on a college campus in Kirkby, Merseyside. Their company, Seatfinder UK, was registered in Dubai.

Key methods included:

1. Ticket office staff manipulated systems to buy £9 local-fan tickets before general sale
2. Tickets resold for up to £1,000 each
3. Created 1,000+ fake Liverpool membership accounts
4. Used false addresses including Liverpool Prison and a city centre hotel
5. Also created fake memberships at Man United, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs

Bombshell defence claim

In court, defence lawyer Damian Nolan made an explosive claim: "Senior players in the first team squad were equally active in this market as anyone and that was happening right under the club's nose."

He added: "Liverpool cannot claim to be damaged here because they tolerated the same behaviour from players and staff."

At an earlier hearing, evidence was presented that "the uncle of a first team player" had been involved in handing over tickets for cash.

Prosecution statement

Senior District Crown Prosecutor Jonathan Egan: "Their so-called 'business' grew from being the equivalent of a market stall to a multi-million pound enterprise, with a base in Dubai."

Prosecutor Nicola Daley: "The real loss was to genuine fans. Tickets meant for local supporters, priced to make games accessible to all, were diverted and resold at significantly inflated prices."

Liverpool's response

Liverpool have issued 1,114 lifetime bans and shut down 145,000 fake accounts over two seasons in their crackdown on touting. The club has blocked 500 supporters from Anfield for using "burner phones" to avoid ticket tracing.

The sentencing raises serious questions about the scale of ticket fraud at Premier League level and how deep the problem runs.