Former AFL players agent Ricky Nixon to fight memorabilia fraud case
Former AFL powerbroker Ricky Nixon has revealed he will fight allegations he knowingly sold counterfeit memorabilia with forged signatures, a court has been told.
Mr Nixon, 60, returned before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where the case was set down for a two-day hearing in February next year.
Magistrate Stephen Ballek was told efforts between the prosecution and his lawyers to negotiate the case had failed, with it being “not capable of resolution”.Police allege Mr Nixon knowingly sold 10 footballs with fake signatures for $595 each on October 1, 2021.
Camera IconMr Nixon gave media a thumbs up and wave as he entered court on Wednesday. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia
The footballs, the court was told, had been purportedly signed by members of the Melbourne Demons following their historic premiership win in 2021.
Mr Ballek was told Mr Nixon concedes the signatures were false, but contends he did not know this when he sold them.
“The prosecution say the accused was aware of issues prior to sending the footballs,” a police prosecutor said.
The court was told police plan to call four witnesses — three civilians and the investigator — when the case returns.
Previously, the case was adjourned to allow police time to provide further statements from witnesses to defence.
The police prosecutor said all bar one, including a statement from Dees captain Max Gawn, had been provided, but one prospective witness, Paul Smart, was “uncooperative”.
Mr Nixon was seen shaking his head as the police prosecutor said Mr Smart was “not playing ball”.
Camera IconHe will fight the charges at a hearing in February 2025. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia
He was charged in November last year with 10 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and later with nine counts of make or use false documents related to the alleged fraud.
The court was told the false document charges relate to certificates of authenticity sent alongside the footballs to buyers.
Mr Nixon has yet to enter pleas on the charges and will next appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on February 12 for a contested hearing of the allegations.
He previously claimed he bought the footballs from a person who told him they worked for an AFL licensee.
“To my surprise and total shock three of the balls were fake,” Mr Nixon told Sam Newman’s podcast, You Cannot Be Serious, in November 2021.
“I am the one who’s been stooged – not the other way around.”
Last month, Mr Nixon was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order after he was found guilty of assaulting and throwing a package at a postman in March 2022.
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