Police in Westfield, Indiana, began working on an investigation into fake sports memorabilia sold by Mister Mancave LLC after receiving a tip back in February, authorities said in a release Thursday.
The probe, which is being aided by the FBI, began when a woman in North Carolina complained she had received “fraudulent merchandise” from the company, and additional claims of counterfeit memorabilia emerged throughout the investigation.
When police executed a search warrant at a Westfield residence July 16, they found Brett Lemieux, 45, dead “from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Lemieux, the owner of Mister Mancave, was identified as the primary suspect in the case in the release.
Police said they collected “a significant quantity of evidence” during the search, but did not offer details to the items found during the raid. Investigators said they were working with “various authenticators for technical assistance” into the seized items.
In a Facebook post attributed to Lemieux before police executed a warrant July 15 at the Mister Mancave business location in Westfield, Lemieux detailed a huge counterfeiting business that sold more than four million items and surpassed $350 million in sales.
Police said Thursday they were aware of the post, but would require more time to review its veracity.
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The crux of the autograph forging operation, according to the post, was based in faking holograms of the largest companies in the hobby, including Panini, Fanatics, Tri-Star, James Spence Authentics, Mill Creek Sports, GT Sports Marketing and others.
Mister Mancave said on its website that it offered “the largest framed jersey inventory on the web.”
Kevin Jackson is the chief content officer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.