A New Jersey man who posed as a former New England Patriots player to buy and sell a Super Bowl ring he claimed was a gift to Tom Brady’s family was sentenced to three years in federal prison on Monday. It has been handed down.
Scott V. Spina Jr., 25, of Roseland was sentenced by a judge in Southern California’s Orange County.
In 2017, Spina purchased the Patriots’ 2016 Super Bowl championship ring from a Patriots player who subsequently left the team. Prosecutors said Spina paid the player (identified only as TJ) at least one bad check and sold the ring to Orange County Championship Ring his broker for $63,000.
“When Spina acquired the player’s ring, we also received information that the former player could purchase Super Bowl rings slightly smaller than the player’s ring for family and friends,” the Justice Department said in a statement. ‘ said.
Spina called the company that made the rings, claiming to be a former player, and ordering three rings for family and friends stamped with “Brady”, claiming they were gifts for Brady’s baby. said the prosecutor.
According to the criminal complaint, “Ring was in no way endorsed by Tom Brady.
Spina agreed to sell the ring to the same Orange County broker who purchased the original ring for $81,500, claiming that Brady gave the ring to his nephew. I began to believe that Brady didn’t have a nephew,” so he tried to withdraw the deal.
In November 2017, Spina sold the ring to an auction house for $100,000, the same day the buyer tried to reverse it.
One of them sold for more than $337,000 at an auction in February 2018, officials said.
Spina pleaded guilty on February 1 to one count of email fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. In connection with three wire transfers for deposits.
In his ruling, the judge also ordered Spina to pay $63,000 in damages to a former Patriots player who sold him a real Super Bowl ring.