These Air Jordan cards were nothing but balls of air.
Mayo Gilbert McNeil, a Colorado senior citizen, was federally charged with alleged schemes with others to sell and trade counterfeit sports cards, including valuable 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie cards, Prosecutors announced this on Wednesday.
The 82-year-old man found his alleged victims through the internet and online sales platforms and defrauded them of more than $800,000 in cash between 2015 and 2019, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Victims also traded authentic sports cards for counterfeit ones, the FBI claimed.
McNeil was arrested Wednesday morning in Denver and taken before a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“Fraud protection extends to all consumers, regardless of which team they choose,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “As alleged, the defendant orchestrated a years-long and far-reaching scheme to defraud sports card enthusiasts and the sports memorabilia industry. Our firm is committed to tackling counterfeiting at all levels of the market.”
The NYPD worked with the FBI on the case.
A victim, from Manhasset on Long Island, forked more than $4,500 from McNeil in 2019 for one of the counterfeit Michael Jordan cards, according to the indictment. Another victim, from Michigan, sent two authentic Tom Brady football cards in exchange for two counterfeit Jordan cards, the lawsuit alleges.
McNeil claimed that the cards he offered had been reviewed by a professional authentication company, but they were actually fake, prosecutors said.
McNeil is expected to face charges in the Big Apple at a later date.
