Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify that evidence suggests the ticket resale deals described in the Epstein files were likely fabricated as part of a Ponzi scheme, and no actual ticket transactions appear to have occurred.
Official court documents released among the Epstein files contain claims that a ticket resale operation profited from the Grateful Dead‘s 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows, Dead & Company‘s 2015 fall tour, and Coachella—though the available evidence strongly suggests the deals were fabricated to defraud investors.
The documents, which were made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, show email correspondence from December 2015 in which two businessmen—Kevin Law and Joe Meli—pitched Epstein on investing $30 million in their ticket resale business.
Meli was later arrested in January 2017 for running a ticket resale Ponzi scheme in which he falsely claimed to have agreements to purchase tickets in bulk to Hamilton and other events, then used funds from new investors to pay fabricated “returns” to earlier investors, creating the illusion of a profitable business when no actual ticket transactions were occurring. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud and was sentenced to 78 months in prison in April 2018. According to the Department of Justice, the scheme operated between 2015 and 2017, suggesting the deals mentioned in the emails may have been similarly fabricated as part of the investment pitch.
In the emails, Law claims the operation purchased large quantities of tickets to high-demand concerts and events, then resold them at significant markups. The proposal outlined that Epstein would receive an 8% preferred return on his investment, then split profits 50/50 on returns above that threshold.
The pitch included detailed results from three prior deals the operation allegedly conducted. The emails state they purchased $1.5 million worth of tickets for the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows (7,500 tickets at an average of $200 each) and sold them for $4.5 million—an average price of $600 per ticket—resulting in a 300% return.
According to the documents, the operation also purchased $5 million in tickets (25,000 tickets at an average price of $200) for Dead & Company’s 2015 fall tour. As of the December 7th, 2015 email, they reported selling 13,000 tickets for $3.8 million at an average price of $293 per ticket. The emails indicated the tour was still ongoing with proceeds expected to be collected by February 15th, 2016.
The emails state the operation purchased the Dead & Company tickets in June 2015. However, Dead & Company did not publicly announce their tour until August 2015. This timeline raises serious doubts about whether the transactions occurred at all.
The pitch also referenced purchasing $1 million in artist passes for Coachella and reselling them for $2.2 million.
Given Meli’s conviction for fabricating similar deals during this exact time period and the implausibility of the Dead & Company timeline, it is likely these transactions never actually occurred, and no tickets were ever purchased or resold.
The proposal went on to detail upcoming opportunities for Hamilton and Adele tickets, projecting a total return of approximately $47 million on a $30 million investment over two years across 22 deals.
The emails appear to indicate that Epstein had at least one prior conversation with Kevin Law about the business before receiving this formal pitch. In the December 7th, 2015 email, Law wrote: “Per our conversation last week regarding the factoring business, here is a proposal for you to become our partner in this business alongside the founder, Joe Meli, who you’ve met previously with me.”
The documents show Epstein forwarded the pitch to his accountant Richard Kahn on December 7th, 2015, the same evening he received it. Kahn advised against the investment, citing concerns that it looked “like a bit of a ponzi sheme” [sic], and Epstein appears to have passed on the opportunity. Then on January 28th, 2017, the day after Meli was arrested, Epstein forwarded the original pitch to Faith Kates, co-founder of Next Model Management.
The documents contain no indication that the artists, their management, or venues were involved in or aware of the scheme.
All the documents are publicly available on the DOJ’s website.