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Operation Bullpen, Brett Lemieux and counterfeit sports memorabilia
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:46 pm
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:46 pm
For those not aware, Operation Bullpen was an FBI investigation that ran in the 90s and early 2000s. They estimated that the majority of all sports memorabilia in the US is counterfeit: Operation Bullpen
Fast forward 20 years. One of largest dealers of signed memorabilia, Brett Lemieux AKA Mister Mancave, got raided and confessed that he used counterfeiters and autopen to forge countless signatures and also forged certificate of authenticity stickers from all the major 3rd party authenticators: ESPN
Even with the autographs that are actually authenticated by PSA, JSA, etc, the forgers have gotten way too sophisticated for them to say with any degree of certainty that any autograph is authentic. All this to say, if you're going to buy signed/game used stuff, make sure its actually authenticated by the league itself, which requires autos to be signed in front of a league rep.
Fast forward 20 years. One of largest dealers of signed memorabilia, Brett Lemieux AKA Mister Mancave, got raided and confessed that he used counterfeiters and autopen to forge countless signatures and also forged certificate of authenticity stickers from all the major 3rd party authenticators: ESPN
Even with the autographs that are actually authenticated by PSA, JSA, etc, the forgers have gotten way too sophisticated for them to say with any degree of certainty that any autograph is authentic. All this to say, if you're going to buy signed/game used stuff, make sure its actually authenticated by the league itself, which requires autos to be signed in front of a league rep.
This post was edited on 7/26/26 at 9:48 pm
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:59 pm to foosball
(no message)
This post was edited on 8/5/26 at 10:21 am
Posted on 7/26/26 at 11:17 pm to lsuconnman
quote:
I bought an autographed photo once. Came with the hologram and a matching certificate of authenticity and photo of the signing. Only problem was the photo was unsigned.
Then it wasn't a forgery at least.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 6:20 am to lsuconnman
quote:
I bought an autographed photo once. Came with the hologram and a matching certificate of authenticity and photo of the signing. Only problem was the photo was unsigned.
quote:Naw, you bought a photo that was misrepresented as being autographed.
I bought an autographed photo once.
Places also make “honest” mistakes. The collector coin certification third party graders sometimes wrote the wrong description of a coin inside the plastic holder.
This is a silver US coin with a gold US coin’s label:
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