Some Dirtbag is Facing 92 Years in Jail for Selling Fake Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings

Source - Federal prosecutors today filed fraud charges against a New Jersey man who allegedly posed as a former player for the New England Patriots, which allowed him to purchase family versions of the team’s 2016 Super Bowl championship ring – supposedly as gifts to relatives of quarterback Tom Brady – one of which was sold at auction for more than $337,000.

Scott V. Spina Jr., 24, of Roseland, New Jersey, was charged today with one count of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in the scheme that allowed him to purchase three Super Bowl rings engraved with the name “Brady” on them and offer them for sale with the false claim that Tom Brady had given the rings to relatives.

In a plea agreement filed today in United States District Court, Spina agreed to plead guilty to the five felony offenses.

Court documents detail the fraudulent conduct that started in 2017 when Spina purchased a Super Bowl LI ring awarded to a Patriots player who subsequently left the team. Spina, who bilked the former player by paying for the ring with at least one bad check, sold the ring soon after for $63,000 to a well-known broker of championship rings.

When Spina obtained the player ring, he also received the information that allowed the former player to purchase Super Bowl rings  ... and started ordering three family and friend Super Bowl LI rings with the name ‘Brady’ engraved on each one, which he falsely represented were gifts for the baby of quarterback Tom Brady ... and to sell them at a substantial profit.” ...

Spina will face a statutory maximum penalty of 92 years in federal prison.

Is it asking too much of the world to quit fucking with the Patriots precious artifacts? Mr. Kraft shows one of his rings to Putin, who then pockets the thing a takes it back to the Kremlin. Tom Brady gets his Super Bowl LI jersey stolen right out of his locker by a reporter from Mexico. 

And it's only due to my man RKK's interest in preventing an all-out nuclear war and the cooperation of Mexican law enforcement that international incidents were prevented. 

Now we've got to deal with this domestic terrorist right in our own back yard of New Jersey? I mean, I know Eli Manning directly profits from these sorts of counterfeit memorabilia scams:

… but once again the Patriots are victims. I suppose it's inevitable, given that they've won a lot more than everyone else. Over a longer period of time. Meaning a ton of roster turnover and an untold number of players in possession of those invaluable, expertly crafted pieces of white gold and flawless diamonds. So with more out there than any other franchise has, it's more likely that some will fall into the wrong hands. But what do they have to do? Guard them like the Rings of Power in Middle-Earth? 

I'd like to know which former player was the victim of identity theft in this scam. Just out of curiosity, not because I hold it against him. I'm sure he had his reasons. I'll assume he was a roster bubble guy who needed the money more than the fond memories. As opposed to say, Chris Long or Martellus Bennett who both left after the 2016 season. Regardless, he made a deal with a disreputable scam artist and got … well, scammed. You lay down with dogs, you get fleas. So it's probably for the best the guy gets his name redacted from the news reports.

All I know is that this has to stop. Plea bargain or no plea bargain, if there's any justice in the world, the vile criminal known as Scott V. Spina, Jr. will have the book thrown at him. He deserves every second of the 92 years allowed by federal law. Make an example o him, so these thefts of treasured pieces of Patriots history stop being treated like they're just another commodity to be stolen and counterfeited. I'm getting tired of being the Patriots' Indiana Jones, the obtainer of rare antiquities trying to keep these artifacts out of the hands of greedy collectors and get them into a museum where they belong. But I will if I must.

Let's just hope this next group of Patriots champions takes better care of their Super Bowl memorabilia.