Man Allegedly Impersonates New England Patriots Player, Sells 3 Tom Brady Super Bowl Rings

A New Jersey man, Scott Spina, has been charged with several counts of fraud after purchasing and selling an illegally obtained Tom Brady Super Bowl rings, as announced by the federal prosecutors on Monday.

The 24-year-old was reported to have purchased three 2016 Super Bowl rings after allegedly posing as a former player of the New England Patriots, which permitted him to buy versions of rings intently made for players’ friends and family. Then, he engraved it with the name "Brady" and tried to sell it with the claim that Tom Brady had given the rings to relatives.

"Spina then called the Ring Company, fraudulently identified himself as [the former player], 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," according to the US Department of Justice release. "The rings were at no time authorized by Tom Brady. Defendant Spina intended to obtain the three rings by fraud and to sell them at a substantial profit."

Spina, a Roseland resident, was charged with one count of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In the court document report, it stated that Spina’s scheme started in 2017 after he bought a Super Bowl LI ring, given to a Patriots player who subsequently left the team, from an ex-Patriots player. He then sold the ring for $63,000 to a well-known Southern California broker of championship rings.

The same Orange County buyer who bought the first player ring agreed to buy the three family rings for $81,500, three times higher than what Spina had paid for them. However, the purchaser began to doubt that Brady had any nephews and backed out. The buyer reportedly backed out in Nov. 2017. Spina immediately sold them to an auction house for $100,000. Meanwhile, during an auction in February 2018, one of the family rings was sold for $337,219.

In his plea agreement, Spina admitted that he defrauded the Orange County ring broker when he falsely claimed that the rings "were ordered for Tom Brady directly from [the Ring Company] for select family members." He also confessed that he deceived this victim in relation to three wire transfers for the deposit on the family rings. Spina additionally admitted that he committed identity theft when he claimed to be the former Patriot to purchase the rings.

Spina is scheduled for a federal court appearance in Los Angeles on Jan. 31. He was also said to have agreed to pay restitution to the former Patriots player who sold his Super Bowl ring and other memorabilia.