Essex County Man Posed As Former Tom Brady Teammate To Buy And Sell Super Bowl Rings: Feds

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Federal prosecutors charged an Essex County man with fraud on Monday, saying he posed as a former New England Patriots football player in order to obtain and sell special Super Bowl rings engraved with quarterback Tom Brady's name.

Prosecutors said in a release on Monday that the Roseland, N.J., resident "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 was charged Monday with one count of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors said in the release that by posing as a former member of the Patriots football team, he was able to buy three Super Bowl rings engraved with "Brady" and "offer them for sale with the false claim that [quarterback] Tom Brady had given the rings to relatives."

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

Prosecutors said that in 2017, Spina bought a Super Bowl LI ring from a former player, allegedly purchasing it with a bad check. Then he sold the ring to a broker for $63,000, prosecutors say.

They say that when Spina got information about the former player during the first transaction, he was able to use it to identify himself as that player and buy more "family and friend" Super Bowl rings.

In February 2018, one of the family rings was sold for $337,219 at an auction.

Spina agreed to make an appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

Once he formally enters the guilty pleas, prosecutors said, he will face a statutory maximum penalty of 92 years in federal prison, but the actual sentence will likely be less once a federal judge considers the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

As part of the plea agreement, Spina agreed to pay restitution to the former Patriots player who sold his Super Bowl ring and other memorabilia.

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