Tennessee Man Sentenced to 18 Months for Stolen Sports Memorabilia Scheme

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Friendsville, Tenn., man, Thomas Z. Kasemeyer, 34, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Thursday, by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, for conspiring to transport stolen goods across state lines.  Following his term of incarceration, he was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.  

According to his guilty plea agreement, in 2021 and early 2022, Kasemeyer, along with his co-defendant, Coy Lee Best, committed a series of burglaries in Tennessee, Georgia, and Kentucky, where they stole valuable sports cards and similar merchandise from various businesses.  After these burglaries, Kasemeyer and Best admitted that they would then travel, often across state lines, to other sports cards stores, to sell what they had stolen.

In addition to his prison sentence, Kasemeyer was also ordered to pay $198,775 in restitution, representing the value of the merchandise stolen during the conspiracy.  For his role in the conspiracy, Coy Best was sentenced to 24 months in prison, in May 2023.

Under federal law, Kasemeyer and Best must serve 85 percent of their prison sentences.  In addition to the $198,775 ordered for restitution, the Court also directed Kasemeyer to pay a money judgement in the amount of $30,000, reflecting his personal proceeds from the stolen merchandise.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Brian Jones, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; Chief Lawrence Weathers, Lexington Police Department; Chief Paul Noel, Knoxville Police Department; Chief Celeste Murphy; Chattanooga Police Department; Chief Frank McCann, Cartersville Police Department; Sheriff Robert Bryan, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office; and Sheriff David Charles, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Lexington Police Department, Knoxville Police Department, Chattanooga Police Department, Cartersville Police Department, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Moynahan.

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