Prolific forger of sport autographs found dead

A US man who claimed to have carried out massive counterfeiting of sports memorabilia and autographs, Brett Lemieux, is confirmed to have committed suicide.

Lemieux was found to have died by his own hand shortly after posting a 'manifesto' online in which he claimed to have forged more than 4m memorabilia items and made $350m in illegal proceeds from the scam, perpetrated under the company name Mister Mancave over more than two decades.

In the document, he said that each autograph from a legitimate signing would be turned into 10,000, adding: "Basically every autograph sold in the last 25 years, you should have it looked at."

It has since emerged that Lemieux was being investigated and had been sent cease-and-desist letetrs by a string of memorabilia companies who claim to have fallen prey to counterfeit holograms, stickers, collectible cards and other items sold through his company.

Among the stars whose autographs were allegedly copied were NFL's Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, basketball's Kobe Bryant, and baseball's Aaron Judge.

A warehouse operated by Mister Mancave on South Park Drive, in Westfield, Indiana, was raided on July 15, in connection with a "counterfeit sports memorabilia scheme," according to Westfield Police Department, which said that on the following day it extended its search to building on Hoover Street where an individual was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The force provided no additional information and said the investigation is ongoing with assistance from the FBI. Various people who Lemieux claimed are accomplices have also been named in the manifesto.

In his post, Lemieux claimed that his circle of collaborators – most people who worked for the company were unaware of the scam, he said – infiltrated databases from major memorabilia companies like including Panini, Fanatics, James Spence Authentication (JSA), Steiner Sports, Mill Creek Sports and Tristar, and could create forgeries at the touch of a button. He also said that the raid on the warehouse netted more than $500m in fake items.

Industry experts have suggested however that the volumes of fake items detailed in the post are unrealistic and unlikely to be genuine.