A man is wanted after police said he allegedly sold high-end, fake trading cards for a $15,000 profit in Pennsylvania.
The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Joel Brown, 21, of Germantown, Maryland, had an active arrest warrant.
According to the North Huntingdon Township Police Department, a victim stated in January that he was involved in the business of buying and selling trading cards for profit. He stated that he was investing in cards from the “One Piece” trading card game and discovered four pricey, uncommon cards for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
According to authorities, the seller had a Facebook profile named Eric Mercado, and the listing was for $15,000. The victim then met with the seller at Norwin Town Square in late January to exchange the cards for $15,000.
When the victim took the cards to a resale shop to be sold, the staff informed him that the cards had unusual markings and features in the printing, indicating that they were fake, according to authorities.
The victim tried to contact the Facebook person who sold him the cards, but he was blocked, according to authorities.
North Huntingdon Township Police then began researching the seller’s Facebook account, which they learned was linked to multiple phone numbers and social media sites related to Joel Brown.
Police also discovered data from Meta indicating that the Facebook account used several different names.
Brown is also accused of being involved in a number of other trading card schemes and crimes in Virginia.
After conducting a search order on Brown’s cell phone provider, police claimed they were able to identify, using geolocation records, that Brown was in the Norwin Town Square area when the trading card transaction with the victim occurred. Police used Brown’s pinged locations to identify that he drove from West Virginia to North Huntingdon.
According to officials, Brown is charged with stealing, receiving stolen property, and impersonating antique or rare objects.
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