![When Rick Scott was governor of Florida, he had a smaller sign added to the \"Welcome to Florida\" signs that greeted visitors.
Img 6487](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_231,w_1221,h_686/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/193/01kwf5qefxt7bz7gxh7r.jpg "When Rick Scott was governor of Florida, he had a smaller sign added to the \\"Welcome to Florida\\" signs that greeted visitors.
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Sometimes, it's nice - nay, oddly refreshing - to see a criminal with a "What's Next?" scheme that rivals the kneejerk reaction of any collector. "Oh, cool. Money. ... Want to buy some baseball cards?"
On Friday, a St. Augustine, Florida contractor was arrested on charges that he accepted $40,000 from a Palm Coast couple in exchange for home renovations that were not completed. He then turned around and spent the majority of the ill-gotten funds on baseball cards.
Why do we know this? Was it not enough to report that he had stolen the money? Why did the police see fit to report that he used most of the cash on baseball cards? Was this a subtle attempt to throw dirt on other hobbyists by association? These are the questions we'd ask if the Flagler County PD saw fit to open the floor to a site dedicated to sports card collecting and all its joyous nuances (though we only recommend you spend non-hot cash on your cards).
By our calculations, that $40,000 can get him roughly (checks notes) 1 1/2 boxes of thenew 2026 Topps Tier One.
Florida Man gets a job to build a bathroom and blows the $40,000 on baseball cards instead @CardPurchaser https://t.co/rY8LboTQa4
— PC_TRADINGCARDS (@Wotansson) July 1, 2026
Florida contractor who blew $40,000 on baseball cards picked a tough time to enter the hobby
According to investigators, "None of the money was spent on materials for the homeowners’ job and that recurring charges went to an online auction site where [43-year-old Michael] Struhar reportedly bought signed baseball cards. The account was overdrawn by the end of December and remained negative most months afterward, the office said."
So, in other words, he didn't seem to be investing in the right collecting targets.
"Signed baseball cards," of course, can refer to any number of things. If he was plundering these funds to reinvest them in the latest Bowman Chrome release, then he could be sitting on a goldmine. If he was merely buying hand-signed cards in online auctions to fuel his addiction, that probably doesn't bode well.
But who knows? If Struhar picked the right prospects, this $40,000 expenditure could end up netting the aggrieved couple the greatest $90,000 bathroom renovation they've ever seen in 2031. Patience could pay off.
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