Collector In Sports Scams Asks For Mercy At Sentencing, Gets None

CHICAGO, IL — A tearful plea for leniency by the teenage son of a sports memorabilia collector convicted in a $23 million scam fell on deaf ears during a nearly three-hour sentencing hearing Wednesday. A U.S. District Court judge in Chicago sentenced Arkansas collector John Rogers, 44, to 12 years in prison for his role defrauding victims by selling bogus sports collectibles he claimed were the real deal, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Rogers, owner and president of Arkansas-based Sports Card Plus and Rogers Photo Archive LLC, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March in connection with scamming millions from other collectors, including putting a fake nameplate on an honorary Heisman Trophy and falsely claiming it belonged to University of Oklahoma and Detroit Lions running back Billy Sims, the report stated.

But Judge Thomas Durkin ordered Rogers to jail in November after it was discovered he allegedly was still selling phony items, including a fake commemorative Super Bowl I football and a fake 1956 batting trophy belonging to New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, the report added. Rogers had been free on bond while he awaited sentencing.

Despite the embarrassment Rogers' continued involvement selling fraudulent sports collectibles had caused, the collector's son, John Rogers Jr., still said he called his dad his hero, the report stated. The senior Rogers, however, told his son to set his standards higher, the report added.

RELATED: Collector Charged With Faking Billy Sims Heisman Trophy In $10 Million Fraud

In his own tearful, 45-minute plea for mercy from the court, Rogers apologized to his son and admitted to his struggles with drug addiction, the report stated. He also vowed to repay the victims caught up in his schemes, the report added.

"I have no excuse for it — zero excuse," Rogers said during Wednesday's hearing. "I don’t deserve a break, but I’m asking you for one."

Durkin was unwilling to give Rogers that break, though, the Tribune reports.

"You literally told thousands of lies to honest people to have them part with their money," the judge said.

As part of his earlier plea deal, Rogers agreed to wear a wire for more than a year, helping the feds with other drug and fraud investigations in his home state, the report stated. His cooperation could have reduced his sentence to as much as half, but the accusations that Rogers had continued scamming victims ended that arrangement, the report added.

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