[Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the victim in this case is the owner of Mamma Tried Sports Cards.]
AMHERST TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) — A man who owns a local collectibles shop sold tens of thousands of sports trading cards to a man for more than $118,000 — only to later learn the buyer’s checks had bounced.
The victim, the owner of Mamma Tried Sports Cards along Telegraph Road in the township, told Lorain County sheriff’s deputies that he started partnering in April 2022 with Jason Leibold, 39, of Huron. The Seville man gave Leibold about 100,000 sports trading cards to sell between April and June of that year. In return, Leibold wrote him eight checks, each between $9,000 and $18,000, according to a police report.
But a week after the last check was signed, the alleged victim’s bank alerted him they were retuned for non-sufficient funds.
Leibold reportedly “apologized” and promised to reimburse the man and even showed what appeared to be photo evidence that he deposited the money into the account for his business, OhioBreaks LLC, the following August. But the account number shown in the photo didn’t seem to match Leibold’s account, according to the report.
Secretary of State records show a for-profit entity named OhioBreaks LLC was formed in January 2022 through a statutory agent.
The money never came. Nearly a month went by, and Leibold didn’t answer the man’s calls or texts, according to the report. Sheriff’s investigators then subpoenaed Leibold’s bank records and found he never had more than $69,180 in the account. That month, the alleged victim retained a civil attorney to seek restitution.
The deputy spoke with Leibold the following October, but Leibold said he’d call back after conferring with his attorney. That call never came.
Leibold was indicted in January on felony counts of theft and passing bad checks. He was released on his own recognizance, court records show.
Leibold is due back in court for a pretrial on March 3.