Norton Shores man sentenced to 30 months for selling counterfeit sports tickets

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – A Norton Shores man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for selling counterfeit sports cards for the past three decades.

Bryan Kennert, 57, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after being found guilty of sabotaging $43,000 worth of antique baseball card packages sold to a couple at an antique store in Muskegon between April and October 2019.

According to the Western Michigan U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kennert told the couple that the packs were “original and unopened” when he actually unsealed the packs, removed the valuable cards, and then resealed the packs to make them appear brand new .

The couple said they visited Kennert eight times in 2019 and spent thousands of dollars on tampered with packages. It wasn’t until they authenticated the cards that they realized they had been scammed.

Federal agents launched an investigation into Kennert and searched his home, where they allegedly found counterfeit cards and supplies used to make them. If the cards discovered in Kennert’s home were real, authorities said they were worth an estimated $7.3 million.

Officials said in a statement that the program has been running for 30 years, and Kennert told agents he made “about $100,000 a year” selling the counterfeit cards and packs.