A man has been accused of transporting millions of dollars worth of stolen merchandise from Augusta National, home of the prestigious Masters golf tournament, a court document obtained by WRDW shows.
Richard Brendan Globensky has been charged with knowingly transporting items from the iconic annual Masters tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club to Tampa, Florida, knowing they had been, “stolen, converted and taken by fraud,” according to the charging document obtained by the outlet.
///BREAKING/// Richard Globensky, an ex-employee at Augusta National Golf Club, has been charged in federal court in Chicago with stealing millions in Masters tournament memorabilia over a 13-year period and transporting it to Florida.
Story to come pic.twitter.com/L1GOCyDe29— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) April 16, 2024
Globensky has been accused of moving “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” approximately between 2009 and 2022 in a court in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, the document reads.
If the prosecution is successful, the accused would be liable for refunding any losses allegedly suffered and would lose the rights to any proceeds related to the alleged offense, according to the document. Globensky is a 39 year-old former employee of Augusta National Golf Club, The Chicago Tribune reported. It is reportedly not known what specific items were alleged to have been stolen or trafficked.
The Masters tournament is arguably the most prestigious of all of golf’s major championships, and memorabilia associated with it is highly sought after by fans. Augusta National Golf Club is famous for guarding its brand aggressively and sells a number of items on-site not otherwise available online, according to The Associated Press. (RELATED: ‘Stardom Confirmed’: Golf Pro Scottie Scheffler Wins Second Masters Tournament In Three Years)
Rahm gives Scheffler the most coveted jacket in sports. pic.twitter.com/kzzKF8gujt
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 14, 2024
Augusta National sued in an effort to prevent their iconic green jackets awarded to winners of The Masters from being sold at auction in 2017, The Associated Press reported. The club reportedly allows these jackets to leave its grounds only for one year before being returned, as they remain property of the club, according to the lawsuit. Both parties agreed to drop the suit in 2019, according to The Augusta Chronicle. The parties reached a settlement, according to court records, The Chicago Tribune reported.