Leeds Crown Court orders ‘Ticket Queen’ Maria Chenery-Woods and husband to repay £3m from £9.8m fraud or face jail
Couple Ordered to Repay Nearly £3 Million from Ticket Scam
A ticket tout and her husband have been ordered to pay back nearly £3 million or face jail time. Maria Chenery-Woods, 56, and her husband Mark Woods, 61, were sentenced in 2024 for their role in a multi-million pound ticket scam.
They used the names of deceased relatives and children as young as 10 to buy concert tickets under different aliases. They then resold these tickets for high prices.
Court Ruling and Financial Details
Last week, Leeds Crown Court held a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing. The court ruled that the couple must pay back more than £2.9 million or face further sentences.
Maria, known as the ‘Ticket Queen’, was jailed for four years in 2024. She used over 120 identities and 187 different email addresses to buy tickets from sites like Ticketmaster.
Financial investigators from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) reported that they made profits of £9,815,351.52, which must now be repaid in full.
| Individual | Amount to Repay | Prison Time if Not Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Chenery-Woods | £995,278.08 | 4 years |
| Mark Woods | £1,972,552.17 | 7 years 6 months |
Maria’s sister Lynda Chenery, 53, and her partner Paul Douglas, 58, were also involved in the scam. Maria is subject to a benefit figure of £7,842,799.35, which will remain a debt until fully paid.
Maria led a luxurious lifestyle, enjoying exotic holidays and trips to Harvey Nichols. The family sold tickets for major concerts like Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift on secondary websites like Viagogo at inflated prices.
Trading standards officers discovered a file filled with credit cards, including ones under the name of a deceased uncle.
Official Statements
Mike Andrews, national coordinator of National Trading Standards eCrime division, stated, “There was almost no moral compass in what they were doing.” He added that they treated it like a game to see how much money they could make.
Detective Chief Inspector Jon Hodgeon from YHROCU said, “Following their sentencing, our financial investigators conducted a detailed analysis of the money made by Woods and Chenery-Woods.” He expressed satisfaction that they must repay the money or face more jail time.
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, called this a landmark case. He hopes it will lead to improvements in the secondary ticketing market for consumers.
