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Scott V. Spina Jr., of Roseland, could face decades in prison when he's sentenced May 23, for charges of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, authorities said.
Spina's guilty plea comes one day after the quarterback announced his retirement after 22 seasons and seven Super Bowl titles.
Spina ordered three replica Super Bowl LI rings engraved with the name "Brady," then sold them to an auction house for $100,000, receiving a significant profit, the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said last December in a release.
One ring reportedly sold for more than $337,219 at an auction.
Spina took a deal from the government rather than risk trial after the FBI's "Art Crime Team" caught him. He signed an agreement this week to plead guilty to wire and mail fraud and aggravated ID theft charges, the U.S. attorney's release says.
Spina had originally bought a 2016 Super Bowl championship ring from a Pats player using a bad check, then sold it for $63,000 to a Southern California sports memorabilia broker, federal authorities said.
“When Spina obtained the player ring, he also received the information that allowed the former player to purchase Super Bowl rings for family and friends that are slightly smaller than the player rings,” the release says.
“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 a criminal complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
"The rings were at no time authorized by Tom Brady," the complaint says. "Defendant Spina intended to obtain the three rings by fraud and to sell them at a substantial profit.”
The same Southern California broke who'd bought the first ring agreed to pay $81,500 for the trio but began getting hinky and backed out.
Spina turned around and sold them to the auction house the same day. He agreed to pay restitution to the former Patriots player he impersonated as part of the plea deal secured by Assistant United States Attorney Erik M. Silber.
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