Man sold prized rookie Michael Jordan trading cards — but they were fake, feds say

A Colorado man faces federal charges that he sold or traded counterfeit sports cards to people across the United States, federal prosecutors reported.

The 82-year-old man arrested in Denver reaped $800,000 from the fraudulent transactions, a March 8 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.

“Protection from fraud extends to all consumers, regardless of what team they root for,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in the release.

The man faces a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors say he misrepresented the cards, including prized 1986 Fleer rookie Michael Jordan cards, as authentic when they were in fact counterfeit, the release said.

The rookie Jordan cards can sell for thousands of dollars, according to online listings.

He sold the fake cards from April 2015 to July 2019 to people he found online and through online selling platforms, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Man sold prized rookie Michael Jordan trading cards — but they were fake, feds say."