Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
A scam artist pleaded guilty this week to selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fake memorabilia. Among the counterfeit items he sold were memorabilia he claimed had been signed by late NBA star Kobe Bryant, members of the Kardashian family, and President Donald Trump.
Anthony J. Tremayne, 58, a former resident of West Covina, California who now lives in Rosarito, Mexico, appeared in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana and pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, “from at least 2010 until December 2019, Tremayne was in the business of selling memorabilia containing purportedly genuine signatures of famous athletes, musicians, actors, and other celebrities. Tremayne advertised nationwide the memorabilia with purportedly genuine signatures.”
He also sometimes included a fake Certificate of Authenticity form, reassuring his customers that the signatures were real. They weren’t.
On one occasion, in November 2019, Tremayne sold a Keeping Up with the Kardashians photograph containing forged signatures of Kourtney, Khloe and Kim Kardashian. Unfortunately for him, his customer that time was a undercover FBI agent.
Other items Anthony Tremayne listed as being for sale, according to ESPN, included “a photograph of the current president” Donald Trump, as well as several items supposedly signed by members of the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Kings, Miami Heat, and “a golf star.”
He also attempted to sell signed replica Stanley Cups, signed boxing gloves, fake Masters jackets and flags, Pro Football Hall of Fame jackets, guitars signed by musicians, a fake signed Beatles photo with “a celebrity boxer,” guitars with faked Carrie Underwood and Prince signatures, a fake Kobe Bryant signature on a photo, and movie memorabilia with forged signatures from actors in the Hunger Games, Twilight, Star Wars and Captain America film franchises.
Tremayne had been charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. His plea deal removed all but one charge and he now faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.