Man gets 3 years prison in Tom Brady Super Bowl ring scam
(CNN) -- A New Jersey man who posed as a former New England Patriots player when he ordered Super Bowl rings with the name "Brady" engraved on them has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.
Scott V. Spina Jr., 25, who is from Roseland, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in February to one count of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to a news release from the US Attorney's Office in the Central District of California, Spina bought a ring and other memorabilia in 2017 from a former player and sold the ring for $63,000.
He then used the former player's information to order three "family and friends" rings -- smaller versions of the jewelry -- with Tom Brady's last name on them, according to prosecutors. Spina told the ring maker they were gifts for Brady's baby.
"Defendant Spina intended to obtain the three rings by fraud and to sell them at a substantial profit," the news release said, citing court documents.
Spina then told a potential buyer in California, who wired a deposit in three installments, the rings were from Brady's nephews, according to the release. The man agreed to buy the rings for $81,500, "nearly three times what Spina paid," but eventually backed out of the deal, due to doubts about Brady having nephews, the release said.
In November 2017, Spina sold the rings to an auction house for $100,000, prosecutors said. Three months later, one of the rings was auctioned for $337,219.
As part of his plea agreement, Spina will pay $63,000 in restitution to the former player, who was not identified. Prosecutors said Spina "bilked the former player by paying for the ring with at least one bad check."
