Man Jailed for Scheme to Sell Fake Patriots Super Bowl Rings
You know you’ve won a lot of Super Bowls when a kid in New Jersey says he has a few extras lying around, nearly sells three of them, and you barely even notice.
Or, maybe going undercover as part of a sting operation is what kept Tom Brady from reporting to camp on time.
This week, a New Jersey man received a three-year prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining three replicas of Brady’s 2016 championship ring, according to the very busy Department of Justice. One would think residing where the Jets and Giants play would count as time served, but apparently, the judge wasn’t having it.
When he was just 20, the man cooked up the scam when he bought an actual Super Bowl ring from another Patriots player, then discovered a loophole that allows players to buy replicas for family members. Posing as the Pat, the man promptly ordered three replicas and had each engraved with Brady’s name. He was eventually turned over to the feds when a broker grew suspicious before purchasing the replicas.
And I think I speak for everyone when I say thank goodness this is the biggest scandal yet involving the Patriots.
But this isn’t the first controversy to swirl around a Pats title ring.
The biggest instance of ring-pocketing was just that, when Patriots owner Robert Kraft took off his own Super Bowl ring back in 2005 to show to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin apparently liked what he saw so much, he decided to put the ring in his pocket and keep it for himself. Kraft later brushed off the incident, chalking it up to a miscommunication.
And I think I speak for everyone when I say thank goodness that was the biggest scandal yet involving Vladimir Putin.