A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to 5 years of probation and 100 hours of community service for attempting to sell greater than $200,000 value of memorabilia he said was signed by former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Robert Capone admitted to attempting to peddle 1,100 jerseys, helmets and other items in a scheme that he told a judge “embarrassed myself and embarrassed my family,” based on a story within the Philadelphia Inquirer published Monday, March 16. Capone, 52, added that it will “never occur again.”
He pleaded guilty to charges of theft by deception, deceptive business practices, conspiracy to commit theft by deception and forgery in reference to the scheme, which took place in June 2024, based on local outlet the Pottstown Mercury.
The judge also ordered Capone to pay back 80 percent of the nearly $72,000 to the fans he defrauded.
The items in query weren’t, actually, signed by Kelce, 38, but by a friend of Capone’s, an artist named Alfred P. Sicoli. Sicoli, 51, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to forgery and related crimes, per the Inquirer. He received three years of probation, 50 hours of community service and was ordered to cover the remaining 20 percent of the restitution payment.
“He’s a extremely good friend,” Sicoli told a Montgomery County courtroom, adding that he and Capone have been friends for 3 many years. “This was not a few grand scheme to make one million dollars — it was just me helping him do some things.”
Robert Capone Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
Assistant district attorney Gwendolyn Marie Kull explained that the duo’s crimes resulted in each a monetary and nostalgic loss for the victims.
“There was a considerable economic impact to Capone’s customers on this case. Typically, they lost the worth of the merchandise, what that they had paid for the merchandise. As everyone knows whenever you’re paying for an autographed signature, if it’s not a real autograph it’s not valued at anything,” Kull said, based on The Mercury.
Jason Kelce attended the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2025 Super Bowl parade after the controversy surrounding his support of his former team. The retired NFL star, 37, celebrated the Eagles’ win on the Friday, February 14, parade in Philadelphia. Kelce was spotted on the streets of Philadelphia walking celebrating along with his former team. At one point he […]
She continued, “A number of the individuals on this case also suffered what I’ll call ‘sentimental loss’ in that these were one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia items that had special significance of their lives that were then destroyed by the actions of Alfred Sicoli and Robert Capone in forging Jason’s Kelce’s autograph on them.”
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman agreed that Capone and Sicoli harmed their victims “financially and emotionally,” per the Inquirer.
“Mr. Kelce will not be here, but I even have to consider there’s damage to the player’s repute,” Ferman explained at Capone’s sentencing. “It’s greater than just an individual or an item. It’s an industry.”