The problem with staging an expensive fundraiser featuring Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel is that the cheap seats are going to sell out, fast. The October 16 show featuring Springsteen and Joel takes place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, and is designed to raise funds for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Unfortunately online scalpers have descended on the event, with some asking as much as $25,000 per ticket.

So, what happens when a fundraiser becomes a bigger money-earner for unscrupulous ticket touts than it does for the intended cause? Daily News correspondent Michael Saul believes the online scalpers may be violating federal campaign finance laws. "These tickets are political contributions,” says lawyer Kenneth Gross. “They are not commercial transactions."

Obama’s campaign team is apparently tracking tickets and checking names at the door, meaning anyone shelling out big bucks on Craigslist could be sorely disappointed. The cheapest tickets for the event, at $500 apiece, are long gone. Tickets priced between $2,500 and $25,000 are still available. A quick check on Craigslist reveals a current (at time of posting) high price of  $5,000 per ticket.