Edmonton Police have charged a man after a number of people were sold Oilers jerseys with fake Connor McDavid autographs.
Police believe there are a number of Edmontonians who were approached by a man online claiming to be from the Edmonton Oilers Entertainment Group or Pro Am Sports, with a business opportunity to buy and re-sell the jerseys for almost twice the original price.
“I don’t know if the jerseys are counterfeit, I don’t know if they authentic or not, there’s only been two that I’m aware of involving this person that have been sold. Since then there hasn’t been any other jerseys, just the idea of buying jerseys and selling them off.” said Const. Derek Burns speaking to media Thursday morning.
Burns said police received the first complaint in April 2018 when a man sold two fraudulently signed jerseys for $1,400 on Facebook messenger. Police confirmed through the Oilers Entertainment Group that the autographs on those jerseys were not authentic.
Almost a year later, in February 2019, police received reports the same man allegedly made off with $23,000 by proposing an investment opportunity involving McDavid jerseys, this time with fake documents to support his claims.
Police are now reminding the public to be aware when buying memorabilia online and to use official channels when doing so. Currently, the Pro Am Sports online store has signed McDavid jerseys priced at $1,599.95.
“If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” said Burns.
Police believe more people may have fallen victim to the scam and are asking complainants to come forward.
“We are fortunate to have fans who support the team through the purchase of memorabilia, but this is a good reminder for our fans to always go to trusted sources,” said OEG senior vice-president of communications, Tim Shipton through an EPS news release Tuesday.
Chandra Vinesh Singh, 23, also known as Vinesh or Vinny, has been charged with fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000, false pretense and two counts of possession of a forged document.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
