I'd bet on UD. They got caught doing "stuff" at least twice, and somehow always seemed to just get a pass on it.
The first was the high number hockey one year during the era of announcing the sales after the orders had been taken. High number "Canadian" hockey was something like 900 cases, a big deal at the time. The packs had I think a few low numbers and a certain number of high numbers. (Or if I'm getting it backwards, they were all high numbers ) Pretty big deal at the time, and they got expensive quickly. Then someone found some packs at a show that were different in content from the usual ones. Some checking turned up that there had been "some" cases "found" at the plant and released. Like a few thousand more. hmmm.........."found" once the aftermarket got really expensive, and with contents totally different from the original ones.
The more recent one wasn't sports, but some game card that were authorized for. Pokémon? Dragonball? Something of that sort.
Anyway, dad buys kid a special pack at Wall-Mart, special rare foil card guaranteed! Apparently a card going for $60 at the time.
Kid opens the pack looks at the card and asks why it's a fake. Shows dad why it's fake- wrong foiling, wrong copyright, a couple other problems.
Dad complains to the store, the store complains to Treat (A huge repackager)and the rights holder. The rights holder demands to know where Treat got the fake cards......from Upper deck the company authorized to print and sell that licensed property in the US!
UD I think lost that license, but counterfeiting your own cards is pretty messed up. I can only assume they were sold under some description that avoided royalty payments or something.
But it could be any of them, I've had some interesting experiences with blaster boxes, either early for fringe products or late in the production cycle for more popular ones. Like Valor FB having two serial numbered cards per pack when the odds said more like one in 4 ? The loose packs didn't have the extra cards.
The Chipz were similar, two special ones in every pack of 4, loose packs only. I think the odds are for the assumed press run, and if the sales lag the extra stuff goes into retail. Not always, but fairly often the last few years.
Steve B
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