Jail for Swift concert cheat who claimed he was a fan but did not know any of her songs

A man who was arrested after he was involved in a Taylor Swift concert scam claimed he was a fan of the American pop star during investigations.

But Yang Chenguang was unable to sing any of her songs and could not provide a good reason for why he could not do so.

On March 28, the 29-year-old Chinese national was sentenced to three months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal trespass and another of cheating.

Swift’s Eras Tour concert at the National Stadium was held over six nights from March 2 to 9 and attracted more than 368,000 concertgoers. It has also been linked to at least 960 victims of ticket scams.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang said Yang arrived in Singapore on March 1 on a social visit pass and did not bring personal luggage with him – he wore the same set of clothing for the entire time that he remained here.

On March 4, Yang sent a woman, Ms Shangguan Linmo, a screenshot of a purported VIP ticket to the concert that said it would be held on Saturday, March 4, 2024. She agreed to buy three Eras Tour tickets for 4,000 yuan (S$760) each.

Said DPP Ang: “The screenshot ticket was a false Singapore Eras Tour ticket – March 4, 2024, was a Monday, and not a Saturday.

“Further, the number 4 on the 4 March screenshot was uncharacteristically large, and was likely to have been artificially added.”

Yang told Ms Shangguan to use the screenshot to enter the security area and to also send it to the other two women with her.

At the stadium, Ms Shangguan tried to use the screenshot to enter but was unable to. 

Yang later contacted her and instructed her to proceed to a different gate.

He met the three women at the gate and instructed one of them to make payment to an Alipay user.

The woman transferred 12,000 yuan to the account. DPP Ang said Yang had deceived her, concealing the fact that he did not have the tickets in his possession.

At around 5.30pm, Yang noticed there were no security officers at three of the six turnstiles. DPP Ang said this was because three of the four security officers stationed at the gate were responding to a commotion nearby.

Yang then alerted Li Xiaowei, a 45-year-old Chinese national, whom he had met outside the gate earlier.

Li walked towards one of the unattended turnstiles where two concertgoers were queueing to scan their tickets.

Yang approached the lone security officer at one of the turnstiles at the gate and asked for directions to another gate.

DPP Ang said this was done to distract the officer from Li and the three women, who were about to sneak into the stadium.

As one concertgoer entered the venue through a turnstile, Li held onto the bar to prevent it from rotating into a locked position and pushed the three women through the turnstile.

After the women entered the National Stadium, Li and Yang walked away. But the concertgoer who had been tailgated told a security officer what happened.

Yang entered the National Stadium through another gate, met the three women, and handed them three yellow VIP wristbands.

Court documents did not state how he entered the stadium.

Yang told the three women to proceed to the VIP seating area, and left the stadium.

The police were notified and officers dispatched to the scene arrested Yang and Li.

During investigations, DPP Ang said Yang claimed that he was a Taylor Swift fan.

“However, he was unable to name or sing any Taylor Swift songs, and he was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for why he could not name or sing any Taylor Swift songs,” the prosecutor added.

On March 5, 2024, the 12,000 yuan transferred to the Alipay account was returned.

In mitigation, Yang, who did not have a lawyer, said this was the first time he had left China and that he was remorseful.

He added that his wife had died two years ago and that he wished to return to China as soon as possible to be with his two children. He promised to teach them not to commit any offences.

Li was jailed for six weeks on March 22 after he pleaded guilty to one charge of criminal trespass.