Steve Jensen, 40, of Osseo, Minn., the head of Minnesota-based Vintage Sports Authentics, is escorted by U.S. postal inspectors from the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Ill., Thursday. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A sports memorabilia dealer sold fraudulent merchandise purported to be jerseys worn during games by baseball players such as Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols, federal authorities said.
Forty-year-old Steven Jensen of Osseo, Minn. was arrested Thursday at a sports collectors’ convention outside Chicago. He is charged in federal court in New York with mail fraud and wire fraud.
Jensen is head of Minnesota-based Vintage Sports Authentics. Authorities say over the last four years, he and his company auctioned off jerseys claimed to be worn by major league baseball players during games.
But the jerseys were not authentic. Authorities say Jensen knew that, and after customers returned them, he re-auctioned them to others.
Messages left with Vintage Sports were not returned.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
