A former Australian Football League (AFL) player agent has been convicted in a Melbourne court for selling fraudulently signed premiership footballs to unsuspecting fans.
Court Hears Details of the Memorabilia Scam
Ricky Nixon, 62, who once represented star player Wayne Carey, was found guilty on four charges, including obtaining property by deception. The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard that in early October 2021, Nixon paid approximately $18,000 in cash for more than 40 footballs. He purchased them from a man in a truck within a car park, with the balls purportedly signed by Melbourne's 2021 premiership-winning side.
Nixon subsequently advertised and sold the footballs on Facebook for about $595 each. Three customers purchased the items, believing they were acquiring genuine pieces of sporting history from the team that broke a 57-year drought to win the grand final.
Players Unite to Expose the Fakes
The scam unravelled when seven members of the Melbourne Demons' 2021 premiership side attended court to give evidence. Each player examined three yellow Sherrin footballs sold by Nixon and stated they had not signed them.
Club captain Max Gawn told the court that while the team signed "a thousand things" after their historic victory, the signatures on these balls were not authentic. He pointed out anomalies, including one signature with a "weird mark" he would not use and another that simply did not resemble his normal handwriting. Gawn also explicitly denied ever signing a football with the number 13, contradicting a claim Nixon had made to a customer.
Former Melbourne player Charlie Spargo noted the forgeries used a print style, whereas he uses cursive writing. Fellow premiership players Christian Salem, Tom McDonald, Trent Rivers, Steven May, and Jake Lever also gave evidence that they either did not sign the footballs or had no memory of doing so.
Victims Deceived and Refund Refused
Three victims of the fraud testified about their dealings with Nixon. Warwick Weir stated he bought a ball after seeing Nixon's Facebook ad, receiving it with a certificate of authenticity on October 3, 2021. He became suspicious when he noticed Gawn's signature was accompanied by the number 13 instead of the player's usual number 11.
When Weir requested a replacement, Nixon allegedly claimed he had spoken to Gawn, who had apologised for the error. Text messages presented in court showed Nixon telling Weir, "Max had apologised, didn't realise that ball was going to make it into circulation." Gawn told the court this conversation never happened.
Other victims testified that Nixon denied the signatures were fake and refused to issue refunds when confronted.
Conviction and Sentencing
Magistrate Brett Sonnet found Nixon guilty of all charges, stating it was "indisputable" the signatures did not match those of the real players. The magistrate concluded that from a certain point, Nixon must have known the footballs were fraudulent.
Nixon was convicted and fined $4500. Magistrate Sonnet also ordered him to repay $595 to each of the three customers who purchased the fake memorabilia.
Outside the court, Charlie Spargo expressed his disappointment for the supporters who were deceived. "It's just frustrating for the fans and the football club," he said.
