TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors charged 11 people on Thursday for allegedly running a ticket scalping operation that generated more than NT$43.54 million (US$1.33 million) over eight years.

Taipei prosecutors said a husband and wife pair surnamed Liu (劉) and Chang (張) ran a scalping group that purchased over 13,000 tickets and onsold them using a system the group designed, per CNA. In addition to the couple, prosecutors said they charged engineers and other members of the group with crimes under the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act.

Prosecutors alleged the group used a sophisticated system involving fake IDs and computer programs to buy and sell tickets for 22 events including sports matches and (G) I-DLE, 2NE1, Jay Chou (周杰倫), Andy Lau (劉德華) and Maroon Five concerts. The group’s system could simultaneously operate hundreds of fake member accounts to buy more tickets than allowed, squeezing out ordinary consumers, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have applied to keep Liu detained incommunicado while the other 10 have been released on bail. They recommended Liu and Chang be sentenced to more than seven years in prison, and said the pair knew the law was changed in May last year to prohibit ticket scalping.

Prosecutors said Liu and Chang lived a lavish lifestyle on scalping earnings and had no intention of earning money legally. They also said the pair used technology to thwart investigations into their scalping operation.

Prosecutors said the group’s actions had a “huge impact” on Taiwan’s arts and sports sectors and caused regular consumers to give up on ticket purchases. The scalping also impacted ticketing companies’ data collection processes, they said.  

In January, Taiwan’s culture ministry said it would work with ticketing platforms to combat scalping. It said it received about 8,000 scalping complaints since the law was changed last year.