Jan 9, 2026 2 min read

State police arrested a Fayette County man accused of being at the center of a string of thefts involving sports trading cards.

Ryan Michael Rates, 44, of South Union Township, faces felony charges of corrupt organizations, organized retail theft and receiving stolen property.

According to the criminal complaint, at about noon Dec. 23, police were called to the Target at 120 Matthew Drive in South Union after more than $1,200 in trading cards were stolen.

Charging documents state that similar thefts had occurred at multiple stores between Dec. 18 and 3. Investigators identified four people involved in those thefts, but they were not named in court paperwork.

One of the suspects told police that Rates coordinated the thefts and that the stolen cards were delivered to Rates’ home at 479 Walnut Hill Road or his storage unit at 6 Oliver Road, North Union Township, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, on Monday an undercover officer purchased trading cards and provided them to Rates at his storage unit. Rates was allegedly recorded saying that he has multiple people committing thefts on his behalf.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of the cards in Rates’ storage unit.

Rates was arraigned Monday night before District Judge Michael Defino. He was released after posting a $20,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 14.