Former West Covina Resident Pleads Guilty to Selling Fake Memorabilia of Professional Athletes and Other Celebrities
SANTA ANA, California – A former San Gabriel Valley resident pleaded guilty today to selling hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fake sports and celebrity memorabilia to customers, including a fake “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” photograph containing forged signatures from several of the show’s stars.
Anthony J. Tremayne, 58, formerly of West Covina but who now lives in Rosarito, Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.
According to his plea agreement, 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.
Relying on Tremayne’s statements that the signatures were genuine, customers sent Tremayne money to purchase the memorabilia and have it mailed to them. When Tremayne mailed the memorabilia to his customers, he sometimes included a “Certificate of Authenticity” form, certifying that the signatures were real.
In fact, Tremayne forged the signatures, and the authenticity certificates were bogus.
Tremayne admitted in his plea agreement to selling more than $250,000 and up to $550,000 of fake memorabilia to his customers.
For example, in November 2019, Tremayne mailed a “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” photograph containing forged signatures of three of the show’s 22 personalities, which he purported to be genuine signatures. Tremayne sold the fake memorabilia to a buyer – who happened to be an undercover FBI agent – in Anaheim in exchange for $200.
United States District Judge James V. Selna scheduled an August 11 sentencing hearing, at which time Tremayne will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Waier of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.
Release No. 25-096
