Former AFL player agent Ricky Nixon convicted in football forgery case after Melbourne players give evidence in court
Adam Daly, Warrick Weir and Tim Holt told the court they bought signed footballs from Nixon for $595 in late 2021 after coming across an advert on Facebook following that year’s AFL grand final.
The Demons beat the Western Bulldogs by 74 points in the 2021 grand final.
Melbourne football player Tom McDonald left the court after giving evidence.Credit: Justin McManus
“As soon as I opened the balls, I realized the autographs were signed by one person, not individual players,” Daly said.
Daly said that when he reached out to Nixon to question the authenticity of the balls, Nixon responded: “They’re not fake…Facebook morons are bullshitting. Stop believing social media is flogging it. Don’t contact me again, I won’t respond.”
Weir told the court that the first ball he received had the wrong player number next to Gawn’s alleged signature, prompting him to contact Nixon.
Weir said he was told Nixon spoke to Gawn personally, Gawn apologized, and did not realize the ball was in circulation. Gawn denied this occurred.
Holt, who said he bought the ball as a wedding gift for a Demons supporter friend, told the court he reported the purchase scam to police.
During an interview with police, Nixon told investigators he withdrew $16,000 in cash and paid for 49 autographed footballs from a man standing in the back of a truck in an undisclosed parking lot.
In the interview, Nixon acknowledged that he believed the signatures were genuine, but that he should have checked the certificates of authenticity himself before signing them.
Detective Senior Constable Dean Russell said he visited Melbourne’s training base Casey Fields to speak to Demons players after receiving reports from people buying footballs.
Melbourne footballer Steven May is off the field.Credit: Justin McManus
He said the general reaction among the players was that the signatures did not belong to them.
Nixon told the court he had bought footballs from the same man for four years without incident and previous memorabilia included former Richmond star Dustin Martin and the Collingwood Football Club.
Nixon said he no longer sells sports memorabilia unless a photo of the player’s autograph is included.
After his relationship soured due to the publicity of the case, he said his next career move was a “major” new business venture.
Judge Brett Sonnet found Nixon guilty of charges including gaining financial advantage by deception and using forged documents. He convicted Nixon and fined him $4,500.
Nixon, 62, was ordered to pay $595 to each of the three victims.
“I accept that,” Nixon said.
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