Tom Brady’s newly opened trading card and sports collectibles store in New York City became the target of a sophisticated theft on Oct. 20, just 12 days after its grand opening.
The Incident
The robbery occurred at approximately 11:40 a.m. ET at the CardVault by Tom Brady location in SoHo, the New York Police Department said in a Nov. 12 statement to Benzinga. A male suspect stole $9,710 in collectible baseball and Pokémon cards from the Lafayette Street store, according to the NYPD. Police did not confirm what specific cards the suspect had stolen.
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The unidentified suspect initially attempted to purchase merchandise using a credit card, the NYPD reported. When the transaction was declined, the suspect “began to enter manual prompts into the contact payment terminal without the employee’s knowledge to bypass the transaction being declined,” the NYPD said. The suspect manipulated the point of sale system to make it appear the transaction had gone through, authorities said.
Suspect Description and Escape
After completing the fraudulent transaction, the suspect left the store and traveled southbound on Lafayette Street, police said. The suspect was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, black hooded sweatshirt, black shorts, white socks, white sneakers and carrying a multicolored bag, according to police.
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Surveillance footage released by the NYPD and obtained by the New York Post showed the suspect wearing a Yankees cap inside the store. The suspect is described by the NYPD as a male with a medium complexion, and the multicolored bag he carried appeared to have a cartoon image on it.
No one was injured in the robbery, according to the NYPD. The suspect is being investigated for grand larceny, the NYPD told ABC News, and the NYPD’s Financial Crimes Task Force is investigating the crime.
“No kidding. That’s not nice. That happens with the city,” a disappointed shopper named Samantha Castaneda said of the theft told the Post as she headed out the store with her grandson. “That’s terrible. The people feel like the card has value. It’s not just the money. People really love it, that’s why they buy it. I hope they find the guy.”
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About CardVault and Brady’s Involvement
Brady acquired 50% of CardVault in February, which describes itself as a store where customers can engage in “buying, selling, trading, and grading sports cards and collectibles." CardVault has nine stores, with locations in cities including Boston, Massachusetts and Dallas, Texas.
Brady, while in the Minneapolis area to call the NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears on Nov. 16, made an appearance after the game at CardVault's grand opening at Mall of America.
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