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Watch: How $2 Million In Cards Were Stolen In Dallas Card Show Theft  

On Sunday, July 7th a major theft occurred at the Dallas Card Show in Allen, TX from the stall of Legacy Cardz, which is owned by Ashish Jai.

The theft was accomplished by distracting the staff at the stall while the cards were boosted. It was an operation that required good planning and scoping out the target. The robbery is noteworthy for two reasons.

First, the sheer massive value of the cards boosted. Second, it was done in plain sight during a card show. How and why did this happen?

We have answers in our overview of the Dallas Card Show theft.

What was lost in the Dallas Card show theft?

The list of cards stolen during the theft is positively staggering. The items stolen from Legacy Cardz includes a laundry list of iconic cards:

  • 2 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle cards (a value of $66,000)
  • 1962 Topps Mickey Mantle / Willie Mays “Manager Dream” card (a value of $1,000)
  • 1963 Topps Mickey Mantle card (a value of $1850)
  • 1964 Topps Mickey Mantle card (a value of $4,000)
  • 3 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle cards (a value of $2,950)
  • 2 1966 Mickey Mantle cards – a Topps and an O-Pee-Chee (a value of $7,300)
  • 6 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards (a value of $512,000)
  • 5 1967 Topps Mickey Mantle cards (a value of $5,175)
  • 3 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle cards (a value of $14,375)
  • 1 1968 Topps Superstars -Mantle/Mays/Killebrew – (a value of $2,000)
  • 2 1969 Mickey Mantle cards (a value of $3,300)
  • 1 1933 Goudy Babe Ruth card (a value of $195,000)
  • 2 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson cards (a value of $57,000)
  • 1 1951 Bowman Willie Mays card (a value of $65,000)
  • 2 1916 M101-4 “Shoeless Joe” Jackson cards (a value of $80,000)
  • 3 1909-1911 T206 Ty Cobb card (a value of $17,000)
  • 1 1952 Topps Willie Mays card (a value of $40,000)
  • 6 1954 Topps Hank Aaron card (a value of $106,000)
  • 1 1956 Topps Hank Aaron card (valued at $4,500)
  • 1 1909-1911 T206 Christy Mathewson – White Border – (a value of $20,000)
  • 1 1933-1936 Zeenut Pacific Coast League B&W Joe DiMaggio card (a value of $19,000)
  • 1 1936 World Wide Gum Joe DiMaggio card (a value of $75,000)
  • 1 1955 Topps Harmon Killebrew card (a value of $27,500)
  • 1 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax card (a value of $17,000)
  • 1 1948 Bowman Stan Musial card (a value of $15,000)
  • 1 1949 Bowman Satchell Paige card (a value of $20,000)
  • 1 1967 Topps Tom Seaver card – an SGC 10 – (a value of $90,000)
  • 1 1909 Honus Wagner card (a value of $35,000)
  • 1 1910 Honus Wagner E106 American Caramel (a value of $30,000)
  • 1 1915 Honus Wagner E106 American Caramel (a value of $55,000)
  • 1 1915 Honus Wagner T206 Strip Card (a value of $19,000)
  • 1 1974 Topps Dave Winfield card – an SGC 10 – (a value of $20,000)
  • 3 1922 American Caramel Series of 240 Babe Ruth cards (a value of $48,000)
  • 1 1923 American Caramel Series of 240 Babe Ruth cards (a value of $23,000)

The expected value of these cards is over $2 million, making it one of the worst thefts anyone has ever experienced in the hobby.

How did the Dallas card robbery happen?

The robbery occurred on the Marriott Dallas Allen Hotel & Convention Center floor. The victim, Ashish Jai, located the close-circuit camera footage and shared it on social media for the entire world to see.

You can view the released part of the footage here:

Though it can be challenging to follow, you can see the action on the bottom left-hand side of the picture. The stall there is operated by his two sons and another individual working for Legacy Cardz for the Dallas Card Show.

The video shows how the staff members were intentionally and effectively distracted from their posts.

A group heist

In the video, we can see a staff member in the bottom left corner approached by someone asking questions. Then, another staff member, who can be seen at the back in the middle wearing a yellow shirt, far away from where the cards were stolen, is consistently distracted by someone asking questions.

Then, the final staff member is approached. All three individuals charged with distracting employees seem to be pulling out their phones, probably to pretend to be interested in cards and showing comps.

Taking advantage of their maneuvers’ access, a person in a dark shirt moves some chairs out of his way before hastily grabbing a sports card case by the handle and leaving the room.

Before making his move, you can see that this person was stacking chairs in the back of the picture to the left. That suggests he was either part of the staff at the show or at least pretending to be.

This was AT LEAST, a four-person job. Three individuals provide distractions, while a fourth moves in for the kill.

After seeing the footage, Jai Tweeted, “The man seen taking the case from under the table in the middle of the square of tables had been stacking chairs near the booth for over an hour, and we thought he worked there. These guys had been scoping us out all day.” 

That is how they knew which case contained most of their big cards: “It was predetermined and targeted because they knew exactly what case to take, which contained a large portion of my inventory.”

YouTube video

The investigation into the Dallas card show theft

There is a lot of information on this operation because it happened in plain sight in front of several security cameras. While that does not guarantee that the culprits will be captured, it increases the odds.

Officer Sammy Rippamonti of the Allen Police told local news outlet 5 NBC-DFW,  “It appears to be an organized group of individuals where they come in, one serves as the role of distracting the victim, then the other moves in to deprive them of their property.”

He added correctly, “What we have learned is that in the card collecting world, it’s a very tight-knit community, so if you see these cards showing up at the other shows or online sites, please reach out and let us know.” Indeed, our entire community can help with this.

You can also help with the Dallas Card Show theft  

Ashish Jai has filed a police report, security footage, and a list of the precious lost inventory. But law enforcement can only do so much. The best thing we can do as members of the hobby community is spread the pictures of the stolen cards and the individuals who stole them. Hopefully, people will watch for them when the thieves try to dispense the merchandise.

You may want to help because you are a good person—and we believe that all our readers are the best. However, there is also something in it for you. The store owner has offered a $70,000 reward for any information that will lead to the recovery of the cards.

If you attended the show and have pictures or footage from it, go through it. The police and owner believe the individuals involved were casing the joint all day, and also may have changed clothes more than once.

So, keep an eye out for that. If you see anything, contact either Legacy Cardz at contact@legacycardz.net or the Allen, Texas Police Department at 214-509-4200.

This is not an isolated case

As the value of sports cards has risen over the last four years, the prevalence of crime in the hobby has risen. There has been a rash of break-ins to card stores over the past year, especially in the state of Florida.

The robberies mainly occurred in stores after hours. However, this theft at the Dallas Card Show is not the first massive event to take place at a card show this year.

Over 2 million dollars worth of cards (of strangely similar value) were stolen from the Best Western Plus Hotel in Strongsville, Ohio, in May. One of the thieves was the hotel desk clerk during the night shift.

In this case, the cards were not stolen from the floor where they show themselves. Instead, the FedEx shipment sent to the hotel containing cards intended for Memory Lane, a well-known vintage cards outfit, was intercepted and disappeared from the premises.

However, cameras captured their arrival at the hotel. Like the cards stolen from the Dallas Card show, these included several coveted vintage cards, including cards and some very high-grade T206 and several high-grade Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente Topps cards.

In that case, there was a happy ending for the owners of the cards. Aside from two cards, a 1941 Play Ball Ted Williams and a 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson, all the items were recovered by the police.

In addition, the two perpetrators, 27-year-old Jacob Paxton, who worked at the hotel, and 50-year-old Jason Bowling, who took the cards off his hands, were arrested and charged with theft. Hopefully, the Dallas Card Showcase will be successfully resolved, and the criminals will be brought to justice.  

Final word on the Dallas Card Show Theft  

Nothing is sacred in this world. Not even our card shows. Pay close attention to your inventory if you are working a card show. If you are spread out, you can’t pay attention to everything.

But you can, the items that make up the core of your inventory, the precious ones. Keep them locked and tied to something and constantly on your person or at least always within sight.

The best protection against theft is if we all stick together as a community. Even the Allen, Texas, police noted that we are a tight-knit bunch who help each other. So, if you see something, say something, as Homeland Security tells us. We are only as strong as our community.

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

Shaiel Ben-Ephraim is the emeritus editor of Cardlines. He continues to write for several hobby outlets, including this one and Cardbase. He collects primarily vintage baseball and soccer and has a weird obsession with 1971 Topps.

In his spare time, Shaiel is sobbing into his bourbon when the Mets lose and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In a past life, Dr. Ben-Ephraim was a political science professor, journalist, and diplomat. But cards are more fun.
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