A person admitted in courtroom Tuesday to defrauding a former New England Patriots participant to get his 2017 Tremendous Bowl ring, then posing because the participant, utilizing his id to purchase and promote extra championship rings that he claimed have been presents for Tom Brady’s household.
Showing nearly from New Jersey, Scott Spina Jr., 24, pleaded responsible in federal courtroom in California to 1 rely of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one rely of aggravated id theft. Spina faces a compulsory minimal jail sentence of 24 months and should pay restitution to his victims.
Amongst Spina’s victims was a widely known collector of championship rings in Orange County. Recognized solely as “S.W.” in courtroom paperwork, the person had flown to New Jersey in September 2017 to purchase and decide up the 2017 Tremendous Bowl ring.
Product of white gold molded into the form of a soccer, the ring from Tremendous Bowl LI was emblazoned with 283 diamonds. Engraved on the interior floor of the ring have been the phrases “GREATEST COMEBACK EVER,” a nod to the Patriots’ historic 25-point comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
The Orange County purchaser was unaware that a number of days earlier, Spina had obtained the ring by defrauding a former Patriots participant, referred to in courtroom paperwork as “J.T.”
Spina and his girlfriend had flown to Georgia to satisfy the previous participant, and Spina wrote him a foul test, understanding he didn’t come up with the money for within the financial institution to purchase the ring, prosecutors wrote in a plea settlement.
As part of that deal, Spina additionally bought a maintain of the participant’s login credentials for the corporate that manufactured the ring, the settlement mentioned.
With these credentials, Spina was in a position to order three smaller rings that Tremendous Bowl champions should buy for members of the family. On cellphone calls with the ring producer, Spina pretended to be the previous Patriot, utilizing the participant’s title.
He advised the corporate he could be giving the rings to Brady, on the time a member of the Patriots, and his household, together with his son. Spina requested to have “Brady” engraved on the rings.
Spina then reached out to the Orange County collector, prosecutors mentioned, providing up “Three Tom Brady Household 2016 New England Patriots Tremendous Bowl LI World Championship Rings,” as he wrote in a contract for the deal.
Spina claimed that the rings have been ordered by the previous Patriot “J.T.” as a present to Brady’s nephews and that he had lower a cope with Brady’s household to acquire the jewellery, prosecutors mentioned.
The Orange County man agreed to pay $81,000 for the three rings and wired $6,500 to Spina as a deposit.
In November 2017, after the rings arrived at Spina’s New Jersey house, he despatched a photograph to the Orange County collector, claiming that he was choosing them up from Massachusetts, the place the Patriots are primarily based.
However the collector observed some crimson flags: The geolocation knowledge on the picture of the rings confirmed New Jersey, not Massachusetts, and he discovered Brady didn’t have any nephews.
The collector requested Spina to cancel the deal.
As an alternative, prosecutors mentioned, Spina struck a cope with an public sale home, telling them the rings have been from “a member of the family of Tom Brady.” One of many rings went on to promote for greater than $300,000 at an public sale in February 2018.
Federal prosecutors charged Spina in late December.
Spina’s protection legal professional, Thomas Ambrosio, mentioned his shopper accepted duty for what he did and declined to remark additional.
The courtroom will determine the amount of cash Spina owes to his victims, notably the previous Patriots participant “J.T.,” who additionally bought a few of his school championship rings to Spina.
The three rings purchased for “Tom Brady’s Household” remained on the public sale home, mentioned Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. legal professional’s workplace.
Mrozek declined to touch upon how federal brokers started their investigation into Spina.
— by way of www.latimes.com
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