A former employee of the Augusta National Golf Club has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for stealing and selling Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia. Richard Brendan Globensky, 40, from Evans, Georgia, admitted guilt last year to transporting and transferring stolen goods across state lines. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ordered Globensky to pay $3,448,842 in restitution to Augusta National.
The announcement was made by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, alongside Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Chicago Field Office. The FBI’s Art Crime Team also contributed valuable assistance.
Globensky's plea agreement revealed that he stole items from 2009 to 2022 while working as a warehouse assistant at the club. The stolen goods included Masters shirts, hats, flags, watches, and historically significant memorabilia like Green Jackets awarded to tournament winners Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, and Ben Hogan. He sold these items to an online broker in Florida for approximately $5.3 million and sold additional memorabilia for nearly $300,000.
During the last six years of his activities, Globensky spent over $370,000 on vehicles and a motorboat and more than $160,000 on Walt Disney-themed vacations. He also invested nearly $600,000 in constructing a custom-built home in Georgia and spent about $32,000 at luxury retailer Louis Vuitton.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hayes stated in the sentencing memorandum that "the funds Globensky obtained enabled him and his spouse to live a lifestyle far beyond their means," suggesting greed as his primary motivation.
