Federal and local authorities are investigating a major cargo heist after thieves stole thousands of valuable trading cards worth nearly $1 million from a delivery vehicle in Southern California, police said.
The theft occurred on Oct. 13 outside the Santa Ana headquarters of Professional Sports Authenticator, known widely in the collectibles industry as PSA, according to the Santa Ana Police Department. The shipment consisted of cards that collectors across the country had sent in for professional verification, grading and protective encasing.
Break-in during a brief stop
Police reported that thieves breached a parked FedEx truck and removed two full pallets of collectibles, along with items from a third pallet. Police sources cited by The Athletic and reported by ABC7 Los Angeles said the break-in happened during a 60- to 90-minute window while the delivery driver was away from the vehicle.
The stolen property comprises 6,451 individual cards, according to an update from PSA cited by sports collectibles outlet Mantel. Santa Ana police initially estimated the collective loss at $963,000, though investigators noted the final valuation could shift as inventories are verified.
In a statement provided to ABC News, PSA’s parent company, Collectors, said it was cooperating with law enforcement agencies and shipping partners. The company stated that it immediately deactivated the certification numbers tied to every missing card and alerted trading platforms to watch for the items. Collectors added that customer service representatives are coordinating compensation based on fair market value for impacted owners.
FedEx said in a statement to ABC7 that customer shipment security is a top priority and referred further questions to investigators.
Collectors face devastating losses
The heist has left collectors across the nation reeling from the sudden loss of high-value and irreplaceable items. Alessandro Spennato, a North Wilmington, Delaware, business owner who sent in 82 wrestling cards featuring WWE star Roman Reigns, told Philadelphia station 6abc that about 10 of his missing cards were one-of-a-kind collectibles worth an estimated $75,000.
“PSA is the biggest grading company in the world,” Spennato told 6abc, questioning how companies will establish fair market value for rare pieces that seldom trade publicly.
Another collector, who posts under the handle Sky-B Cards, stated in a YouTube video that 104 of his cards were on the truck, ABC7 reported. He said he had spent more than $8,000 on authentication fees and had insured the two-year collection for over $150,000 before it vanished.
Surging market drives theft wave
The incident represents one of the largest single property crimes targeting graded collectibles, coming amid an unprecedented surge in alternative asset values. Gregory Lawrence of Shiny Vault Pokémon Cards told ABC7 that collectibles have increasingly been treated like stocks or bonds by international investors.
Jared Mast, president of Mast Wealth Management Group, told ABC News in April that Pokémon card values had climbed between 200 percent and 300 percent over the prior 12 months alone, driven by celebrity attention and mainstream interest.
That increased demand has triggered a string of high-profile break-ins nationwide. In February, burglars cut through an adjacent wall into an Anaheim collectibles shop, stealing tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise in under 10 minutes, ABC7 reported. Two months later, an April smash-and-grab at Elite Sports Cards in Chicago resulted in the loss of $100,000 worth of Pokémon cards.
The Santa Ana Police Department and the FBI are handling the ongoing investigation. As of Saturday, authorities had not announced any arrests or identified suspects in the case.
