Con man bilked fortune from memorabilia collectors with forged sigs of Kardashian, Trump
A California man who ran celebrity memorabilia stores admitted on Monday that he made as much as $550,000 over a decade by selling fans hundreds of fake items, including supposed autographs of Kobe Bryant, Kim Kardashian and President Donald Trump, the Justice Department announced.
Anthony J. Tremayne pleaded guilty in federal court to forging the items and hundreds of other collectibles that were purportedly signed by iconic movie stars, musicians and athletes. Among them were the forged signatures of Muhammed Ali and the Beatles on a single photo and Twilight Saga stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner on a poster.
Tremayne's guilty plea in the Central District of California marks a final point in the charade the former San Gabriel Valley resident carried on for nearly 10 years through his businesses, including Timeless Treasures.
'Relying on Tremayne's statements that the signatures were genuine, customers sent Tremayne money to purchase the memorabilia and have it mailed to them,' the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement, adding he sometimes included certificates of authenticity. 'In fact, Tremayne forged the signatures, and the authenticity certificates were bogus.'
The case comes as demand for collectibles continues to escalate and the trade for sports memorabilia alone grows into a $30 billion market. U.S. Postal Service inspectors have attempted to root out such cases of fraud for decades but con men continue preying on fans seeking a piece of a favorite icon at a minor-league price.
Tremayne pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. The 58-year-old faces up to 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge James V. Selna scheduled sentencing for August 11, the Justice Department said.
The piece of memorabilia federal agents caught Tremayne trying to sell was a piece of fake Kardashians memorabilia – a 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' poster signed by sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloé, prosecutors said. He sold the signed photo for $200 to an undercover FBI agent in Anaheim, California, in 2019, according to court filings.
Tremayne pleaded guilty to selling up to $550,000 in fake memorabilia but the indictment against him estimates that the total amount of fake goods he sold was in the millions of dollars.
An attorney for Tremayne did not respond to requests for comment.
A U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson said Tremayne lives in Baja California and crosses the border for court hearings.
Prince, Bird, Magic and presidents. What forgeries did he make?
The catalogue of memorabilia Tremayne forged, according to a federal indictment in California, is extensive. It included a litany of famous musicians, actors, athletes and politicians.
In one exchange in 2013, Tremayne sold 20 forged memorabilia pieces for $4,000 in California. Among the items was a photo of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson supposedly signed by the basketball greats 'depicted smiling at each other' and a photo of boxer Muhammed Ali and the four Beatles signed by the five celebrities, according to the indictment.
Another item in the haul was a guitar supposedly signed by '21 Academy Award winners,' the indictment says.
Tremayne made another blockbuster deal that year, selling 100 forged items for $100,000, court papers say. The loot included a Twilight poster signed by stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner; signed Darth Vader and Stormtrooper helmets; and several signed Captain America shields.
Photographs of forged memorabilia provided to USA TODAY by the U.S. Attorney's Office show the signed Keeping Up with the Kardashians poster; a photo of Kobe Bryant signed by the basketball icon; a black electric guitar signed by Prince; and another guitar signed by Carrie Underwood.
Many of the items sold, including the Kardashians poster sent to the FBI, included a 'bogus certificate of authenticity,' according to court filings.
Even the signatures of the most powerful people on the planet wound up for sale at Tremayne's shop. Among them was an autographed photograph of the president in 2019 – Donald Trump – and a basketball signed by an unnamed former president, the indictment says.
'Confronting the Curveball of Mail Fraud'
Federal efforts to root out fake memorabilia come as the industry continues to grow. Business journals value the sports memorabilia market alone at $30 billion and the priciest collectibles sell for well over $10 million.
The most expensive item ever auctioned off was Babe Ruth's 'called shot' jersey which sold last August for $24 million, according to Sports Business Journal. Of course, that was the real deal and not fake.
Postal Service inspectors have worked to uncover counterfeits for so long that the National Postal Museum hosted an entire exhibition this year on the topic of baseball memorabilia fraud. They paired the exhibition with a lecture recognizing counterfeit memorabilia titled 'Confronting the Curveball of Mail Fraud.'
Sending forged or counterfeit items through the postal service constitutes mail fraud and is a federal offense.
Federal efforts to uncover fraud even led authorities back to the very icons supposedly giving out their signatures. In 1990, Willie Mays provided a copy of his autographs for postal inspectors to compare to the – fraudulent – memorabilia available for sale, according to the Smithsonian.
Smithsonian officials recommend avoiding collectibles for sale at significantly cheaper prices than compatible items but even counterfeits can cost a lot.
A father told postal inspectors he bought his son a jersey allegedly worn by baseball player Alex Rodriguez for $3,200 that turned out to be fake. He told authorities that he learned the truth directly from a representative of the former New York Yankees player who examined the jersey.
The owner of the company that sold the counterfeit jersey was arrested and ordered to pay $18,000, according to the Postal Museum.
Allegedly game-worn jerseys represent one of the most common types of sports memorabilia fraud, according to the Postal Service.
More memorabilia crimes
The case of memorabilia out of California is one of just many ways criminals try to profit off of the supposed relics of modern day icons.
Prosecutors in the Central District of California announced another case in late February of a man pleading guilty to tax fraud after not reporting $1.2 million in earnings from selling Stan Lee-signed items. Mac Martin Anderson made the sales at comic conventions in exchange for cash or checks, according to a guilty plea agreement.
In January, a postal worker pleaded guilty in federal court in New Jersey to stealing memorabilia out of the mail, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. According to the FBI, items Shelby Dozier stole and resold to sports stores included a set of two Michael Jordan and a Mickey Mantle Card valued at $4,500; an autographed Willie Mays card; and an autographed Rafael Nadal photo.
Some go straight to the source. A former Augusta National Golf Club employee pleaded guilty last year to stealing memorabilia from the Georgia institution and selling the items for over $5 million. The stolen goods included three of the iconic Green Jackets doled out to winners of the Masters golf tournament.
Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@usatoday.com, @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.
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