Man Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Tom Brady Super Bowl Ring Scam

A New Jersey man who lied about his identity to order Super Bowl rings by claiming they were gifts for Tom Brady’s relatives has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Scott Spina Jr. received the sentence on Monday for a scam in which he sold the rings to an auction house for $100,000 in 2017.

“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 U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement from the Justice Department.

“The rings were at no time authorized by Tom Brady,” court documents said.

Spina pleaded guilty to the charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, according to the statement.

The crime began when Spina bought a 2016 Super Bowl ring from a New England Patriots player identified as “T.J” who was no longer with the team. The document with the ring included the address of the company that sells the rings.

Spina contacted the company under the former player’s name and ordered three “family and friends” Super Bowl rings, claiming they were gifts for Brady’s baby. However, Brady did not have a baby at the time.

The order included engraving Brady’s name on each of the three rings. Spina later sold the three rings to an auction house for $100,000. The rings were sold at auction for a total of more than $337,000, according to court records.

Spina was 19 years old when he ordered the Super Bowl rings.

In addition to his prison sentence, Spina is required to pay $63,000 to the former Patriots player who sold him his Super Bowl ring. At least one of the checks used to purchase the ring was fraudulent.

Spina’s punishment is in addition to a 35-month prison sentence he received in 2018. The second scam involved the sales of high-priced sneakers in which he failed to deliver the purchased products and stole customer credit card information.

The controversy regarding the Super Bowl rings associated with Brady came after his team’s 2016 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. The superstar quarterback has won seven Super Bowls, six with New England and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady announced his retirement following the 2021 season, but came out of retirement less than one month later when he signed a new agreement with the Bucs. The 45-year-old will return in another run for an eighth Super Bowl ring this season which could add to his already record number of championship wins and 10 Super Bowl appearances.

The Daily Wire reported Monday that Brady had returned to training with his team after missing Tampa Bay’s first two preseason games.

“It’s all personal,” he said, adding, “You know, everyone has different situations they’re dealing with and we all have unique challenges to our lives … I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of s*** going on, so you just have to try and figure out life the best you can. You know, it’s a continuous process.”