2 Sask. men say they are out thousands of dollars after hockey card order never arrived

Two Saskatchewan hockey card enthusiasts say they're out more than $5,000 each after a deal gone wrong involving a Quebec-based hockey card seller.

Jordie Gagnon and Rocky D'urso each preordered cases of highly sought-after 2023-24 Upper Deck Hobby cards, but say the cards never arrived. Both have demanded refunds, but say they haven't arrived either.

"My heart sunk into my chest and I'm like, 'oh, he got us,'" Gagnon said in his Saskatoon home.

The SP Authentic set dropped on Oct. 30, giving buyers a chance at a new slate of rare cards. Maxime Brown, a known seller in the hobby space and owner of a card shop called Brown's Cartes Sportives in Longueil, Que., advertised cases of the new set.

Gagnon said he's in an online group where more than 70 people from across the country have said they've gone to the police after ordering cards from Brown and not receiving them.

Brown confirmed to CBC that his buyers have not received the cards. He said he plans to pay everyone back, but that his bank has frozen his account.

Deal fell through

Gagnon started getting worried when he saw posts pop up on Facebook saying Brown's card shop was closed and his website was down.

Gagnon prepaid $5,659.72 by e-transfer to Brown for one case. D'urso said he paid a little more, about $6,200 for a case.

Both men say Brown was a trusted figure in the card business that they've had dealings with in the past. D'urso said there was trust built up over years of deals.

"I'm usually not like that, I usually don't give away money that easily," D'urso said.

"My birthday is in November, so it was a birthday gift for myself, so when I found out about this … I wasn't feeling too good about it, let's put it that way."

The Regina Police Service said in an email that because the suspect lives out of its jurisdiction, the file was sent to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and forwarded to the Service de police de l'agglomération de Longueuil (Longueuil's police service).

The Saskatoon Police service also received a complaint about Brown, but said the issue is civil, not criminal.

Gagnon said this should be more than a civil case given the amount of money involved in the failed deal.

Seller promises refunds

Brown agreed to do an interview with CBC by video chat, but didn't show up. He also didn't follow up on multiple other attempts by CBC to get an interview on camera.

Brown did respond via email to most of CBC's questions. He said he's not a scammer, and that allegations he saw online that the money was spent on, "a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Tesla and that I had gone to the Bahamas," are untrue.

He said he has the money to pay people back, but the bank has frozen his accounts because of customers filing charge back claims for their credit cards.

He's also said he has been in contact with the buyers periodically and created a group chat where he promised to return everyone's money.

Brown said 12 people have been completely refunded and another 12 have been partially refunded. He said there isn't an exact timeline on when the money will be refunded to everyone else.

Brown not authorized seller: Upper Deck

CBC reached out to the card company Upper Deck about whether Brown was an authorized seller of its product.

"The individual you reference [Maxime Brown], as well as their storefront, is not an authorized member of Upper Deck's Certified Diamond Dealer program, making them an unauthorized retailer of Upper Deck products," senior marketing manager Paul Nguyen stated in an email.

"Our CDD program exists for this exact reason — to protect customers and help them feel secure knowing they're making a legitimate purchase."

Nguyen said Upper Deck's customer service won't assist or refund purchases made through a non-CDD.

Brown wrote that he didn't order from Upper Deck directly. He said the private seller he'd agreed to buy the cards from backed out.

He said the attention from this controversy has cost him his store and reputation.

"I never intended to scam anyone and I still don't today," he said. "I lost control."