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NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 24: Team 23Xi co-owner Michael Jordan on pit road prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 on June 24, 2023 at Nashville SuperSpeedway in Lebanon, TN. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 24: Team 23Xi co-owner Michael Jordan on pit road prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 on June 24, 2023 at Nashville SuperSpeedway in Lebanon, TN. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
There exists a direct correlation between a player’s performance and popularity. While seemingly obvious, an NBA superstar sees an uptick in fame with an increase in production. However, an unfortunate byproduct of this fame is the existence of scammers. Throughout NBA history, the league’s superstars have indirectly dealt with scam artists trying to make a profit off of their names. But, perhaps none have been as unfortunate in dealing with these situations as Michael Jordan.
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In the past week alone, 2 stories broke out about various scammers. Today, another name joins the list.
Another Michael Jordan scammer comes to the forefront
Usually, scammers are on the seller’s side of the ballpark. However, this time around, the fraudster was cosplaying as a customer. But, it wasn’t Julian Garcia’s first time engaging in this particular brand of forgery. Instead, it became his MO. Throughout last week, various news of potential frauds came to light. However, soon, his goals became bigger. As a result, Hoody’s became his next target.
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The first purchase came in on the 6th of July for an MJ and Julius Erving dual patch autograph. The Upper Deck Black piece was worth almost $7,700.
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Sport Bilder des Tages NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Qualifying Jun 24, 2023 Nashville, Tennessee, USA Team 23XI owner Michael Jordan looks on from pit road during qualifying before the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Nashville Nashville Superspeedway Tennessee USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xChristopherxHanewinckelx 20230624_cec_ah2_120
A mere four days later, his next order worth $5,655 came through. This time, it was a 1997-98 Metal Universe PMG Clyde Drexler in a PSA 4.
Read More: Pocketing 800K From Michael Jordan Memorabilia, 82-Year-Old Man Faces the Hammer for Alleged Fraud
In trademark fashion, Garcia showed a video to Hoody’s about their product being empty when opened. That’s when things started unraveling.
Thankfully, GM Max Barnes was aware of the ongoing schemes. As a result, he was able to identify the scam and contacted Action Network.
The techniques of the scammer
Looking at the video, Barnes was sure that it was a scammer that the company was dealing with. Because “the envelope on top isn’t how I put it in there and he opened the package from the bottom.”
Further, track record was a factor. Out of the 125,000 auctions that the team manages, hardly three or four face shipping issues.
Because eBay does not have authentication programs outside the US and Canada, Garcia was exploiting a loophole. But, when the scam did not work, Julian went a different route. From “I didn’t get the cards” to “I got the wrong cards”, the switch was quick.
Then, it became a bank issue.
But, the size and credibility of Hoody’s give further credence to how many times Garcia has undertaken such a scam. And, with his refusal to quit in this instance, it looks like this will remain a continuing story.
Watch This Story: Denny Hamlin Lashes Out At Michael Jordan’s Driver For Ruining His Darlington Performance
Written by
Edited by
Aakash Nair