Denise Tisor and David Blake sold fake tickets to fans for the pop star’s six-day Eras Tour stint in Toronto in November 2024, which resulted in over 100 victims being defrauded.
Taylor Swift's six nights at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on her Eras Tour in November 2024 was a major hot ticket, prompting many people to hike up the prices on resale sites — or falsify claims of even having tickets.
Nearly two years later, a Hamilton, Ontario couple have pleaded guilty to defrauding Taylor Swift fans for over $265,000.
Denise Tisor and David Blake allegedly scammed 107 victims on Facebook Marketplace into buying fake tickets to Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Toronto between August 2023 and November 2024, racking up $265,330 in fraud.
According to court documents and a statement of facts, the couple used approximately $139,144 of the money to place gambling bets on several online platforms and withdrew over $297,000 in cash from ATMs during the same period.
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The documents reveal that some fans paid as much as $5,100 for tickets. The statement of facts confirms that Tisor — who went by Denise Blackhawk on the social media platform — was known as a reliable ticket reseller before Swift's Toronto residency. Tisor claimed she had a contact at the Rogers Centre who could get tickets to the singer's sold-out shows.
Swift performed across two weekends in the city in 2024: Nov. 14, 15, 16 and 21, 22 and 23.
Last week, Tisor took to Facebook in a now-deleted post to address the allegations and plead guilty, claiming that she was dealing with a severe gambling addiction during the months that the ticket scams took place.
“Addiction consumed my thinking,” she wrote. “At the time, all I cared about was feeding that addiction. Looking back, I can see how much pain it caused, and I have to live with that every day. I wish I had recognized how serious it had become before it spiraled so far out of control.”
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“I’m sorry to everyone who was affected by my actions… There are people I think about every day, and not being able to apologize sooner has weighed heavily on my heart,” she continued.
Tisor claimed that she wanted to apologize sooner, but was advised not to. In the post, she revealed that she’s actively recovering and will continue to take responsibility for her actions.
“I understand that not everyone will accept my apology, and I respect that. Forgiveness is not something I’m entitled to or expect. I simply felt it was important to finally acknowledge the pain I caused and sincerely apologize.”
Tisor was initially arrested in 2024 after local police alleged she used Facebook’s reselling platform to sell fraudulent concert tickets for Swift’s shows, providing concertgoers with dates and seat locations for one of the six concerts. She would allegedly receive the payment through e-transfers and later tell the victims the tickets wouldn’t be received until days before the concert. Those tickets never came.
Reportedly, Tisor claimed her contact had stopped responding to her. Police investigated that person and concluded they had “no involvement in the sale of fraudulent concert tickets.”
At the time of her 2024 arrest, Tisor was suspected of selling fraudulent tickets to 28 victims and was faced with 66 charges, including over $5,000 in fraud and possession of property obtained by crime.
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One of the couple’s victims, Tammy Allen, told CTV Newsthat Tisor made “no effort” to repay any of the victims over the past two years. “To hear her plead guilty, probably, in my opinion, now for the lesser sentence, really kind of is a gut punch,” she said. “I can’t empathize with the life decisions made to support said addiction.”
Jenny Beck, another victim, shared with Global News that she “still cannot really talk about it today,” referring to the fraud. “It was awful. I still can’t talk about it.”
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Swift’s six Toronto dates were a huge economic driver. A costs and benefits report found that the concerts amassed an estimated $39.7 million from direct and indirect spending and an economic impact of an estimated $282 million, with the city spending over $3.6 million in anticipation and during Swift’s concerts.
A sentencing date for Tisor and Blake has yet to be set.
