Members of the New York Giants, including quarterback Eli Manning and the team's equipment manager, tried to pass off fake football equipment as valuable game-worn gear, a new lawsuit alleges.
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, the list of "forgeries" passed off by the Giants include Manning jerseys and helmets. It's alleged a helmet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame that's labelled as the one Manning wore in the 2008 Super Bowl is a fake.
Manning is accused of participating in the scam so he could keep his equipment as memorabilia.
The lawsuit alleges the Giants intentionally distressed jerseys and other equipment to make them appear game-worn.
The allegations are part of a larger suit filed Wednesday by sports collector Eric Inselberg. Inselberg was previously indicted for memorabilia fraud, but all charges were dropped.
Inselberg claims to have e-mails that show Giants equipment manager Joe Skiba admitted to creating forgeries.
