Fake baseball cards leads to prison term for Michigan man

A man from North Shores, Michigan has been sentenced to prison for selling counterfeit collectible baseball cards to unsuspecting customers.

Bryan Kennert (57) received a 30-month term in prison for selling $43,354.94 of vintage baseball cards that he falsely represented as original and unopened card packs.

A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation determined the packs – sold to a couple over a seven-month period in 2019 – were opened, had the valuable cards removed, and were resealed to look like new, unopened packs.

They met Kennert after visiting an antique store in Muskegon where they saw packs for sale as original and unopened at a bargain price. When the couple had the items they had bought authenticated and checked for condition, they were told they were resealed and nearly worthless.

After learning of the fraud, federal agents executed a search warrant at Kennert’s home, uncovering fake cards that would have been worth $7.3mif authentic, alongside supplies to make fake card packs.

Federal agents interviewed Kennert, who admitted making around $100,000 a year selling the counterfeits. "Kennert has engaged in schemes to sell fake sports cards and packs for at least 30 years," said the HSI in a statement.

Fake baseball cards have been around almost as long as the cards themselves, but the advent of digital printing techniques has made it easier for fraudsters to make high-quality copies that are hard to detect.

You can find more information on ways to detect a fake here.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash