Man gets 3 years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining and selling Super Bowl rings with 'Brady' engraved on them

By Steve Almasy, CNN

Updated 2130 GMT (0530 HKT) August 29, 2022

Scott V. Spina Jr. pleaded guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in relation these «Brady»-engraved rings. Portions of this image have been obscured by the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

(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.The most expensive baseball card in history just sold for $12.6 millionRead MoreSpina 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