NEW YORK -- A Super Bowl fraud case landed a New Jersey man in jail Saturday for a $15 million scam involving some of Wall Street's biggest names.
Fake contracts and letterheads from such firms ase Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, the Trump Organization and even the National Football League helped promote the scam as a booming ticket broker business.
A Manhattan federal jury Friday found instead it was a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded investors of more than $15 million.
Jeffrey Burd, 33, of Edison, N.J., was convicted on 12 counts of wire fraud for orchestrating the elaborate scam through his ticket broker business, Double 'J' Enterprises.
During the two-week trial, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue testified that his signature was forged on a phony NFL travel contract that Burd used to promote his business, that actually did little or no ticket business with the corporations claimed as clients.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Brudner said his evidence showed the commissioner's signature was copied from an official NFL football that Burd obtained at the 1990 Super Bowl.
Burd also duped investors by introducing them to famous sports figures, including linebacker Lawrence Taylor and other New York Giants, Brudner told the jury.
Super Bowl tickets, luxury trips and other perks for investors added to the illusion of a profitable enterprise. Burd covered those expenses with investor money that he also used to pay off other investors, Brudner said.
Burd bought for himself Jaguar automobiles and $600,000 worth of jewelry, on top of spending millions on casino gambling, evidence showed.
One 'contract' showed Burd and his company were chosen to provide $87 million worth of travel arrangements for NFL teams, provide hundreds of 'Super Bowl Packages' and 'Wimbledon Packages' and purchase 'Diamond View Suites' at Shea Stadium for New York Mets baseball games.
Burd won acquittal on one count that charged him with selling a phony oil investment.
Each of the 12 wire fraud counts carry maximum prison terms of up to five years and maximum fines of about $31 million.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey remanded Burd to prison pending sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 9.
