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The feds say a New Jersey man copped to impersonating a New England Patriots player as part of an elaborate scheme to obtain and sell Super Bowl rings engraved with Tom Brady‘s name.
Federal prosecutors say the man behind the scheme is 24-year-old Scott Spina … and he’s struck a deal with the authorities, pleading guilty to 5 felony charges.
The feds say Spina started cooking up the scheme way back in 2017, when he bought a Super Bowl 51 ring off a Patriots player with at least one bad check, then sold the ring for $63,000 to a California broker specializing in championship rings.
Prosecutors say Spina not only got the ring off the player but also received other information allowing him to pose as the player, allowing him to purchase similar (but slightly smaller) rings designated for players’ families from the company who made the SB rings.
Posing as the former Patriots player — identified only as J.T. in court docs — prosecutors say Spina started ordering 3 “family and friend” Super Bowl LI rings with the name “Brady” engraved on each one, which he falsely claimed were gifts for TB12’s baby.
The feds say the real Tom never authorized the rings … and Spina plotted to flip them for a fat payday.
According to prosecutors, Spina hammered out a deal with the Cali ring broker to sell him the 3 engraved Brady rings for $81,500 … but the broker got cold feet and backed out the same day Spina got the rings in hand, with the buyer questioning the story Spina was spinning.
The feds say Spina pivoted and sold the engraved Brady rings to an auction house for $100k … and months later one of those rings sold at auction for $337,219.
Prosecutors say Spina admitted to defrauding the ring broker by telling him the rings “were ordered for Tom Brady directly … for select family members” and copped to posing as the former Pats player to buy the engraved rings.
The feds say Spina agreed to plead guilty to the 5 felony charges against him — 3 counts of wire fraud, and 1 count each of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft — and he’s facing up to 92 years in federal prison.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors say Spina agreed to pay back the former Pats player who sold him his Super Bowl ring and other memorabilia.