A PROMINENT sports memorabilia trader was found dead after an investigation into his allegedly fraudulent business operation.
Brett Lemieux, founder of MisterManCave, claimed to have sold over four million counterfeit items and made over $350 million in sales.
Brett Lemieux, founder of MisterManCave, admitted to selling millions of fake pieces of sports memorabilia[/caption]
He claimed to have made over $350 million from the scheme[/caption]
In a 1,200-word Facebook post on Wednesday, he appeared to confess to his forgeries on the Autographs 101 group.
Hours after the post, Westfield, Indiana police confirmed that Lemieux died by suicide from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Lemieux’s post and account have since been taken down.
The 45-year-old’s scheme involved faking the hologram authentications stickers used on sports memorabilia.
These stickers are used by major companies like Fanatics.
Using the fake holograms, Lemieux sold the fake memorabilia at a price discounted well below market value.
In his confession, Lemieux said he flooded the market with 80,000 pieces of memorabilia when Kobe Bryant died in 2020.
He also admitted to having thoughts of stopping, but that the money was “too good.”
“People have known about this guy,” sports memorabilia expert Steve Grad told WRTV Indianapolis.
“They’ve known his work. They know what he’s been up to.
Lemieux was found dead by police after his admission and was ruled to have died by suicide[/caption]
Lemieux’s scheme involved faking the hologram verification on autographed items[/caption]
“He has been at it for years and years. And he’s driven down the price of things.
“You know, you look at a Tom Brady autograph and Tom Brady’s value is affected drastically by this individual.”
Andy Albert, who owns the Indy Card Exchange, told WRTV that his phone was “blowing up all night” after the news dropped.
“He did professional framing services for us probably four or five years ago — never had direct interaction with the memorabilia piece of it. Thank God,” he said.
“Ninety-nine percent of the people in this industry do things the right way.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
“And that one bad apple ruins the entire apple cart. It just infuriates me.
“Unfortunately, that’s going to have shockwaves for years to come.”
The MisterManCave website claims to have “the largest framed jersey inventory on the web.”
The collection includes signed pictures, jerseys, and ticket stubs.
A signed Tom Brady Tampa Bay Buccaneers/New England Patriots helmet is listed on the website for $4,999 that claims to be Fanatics Authentic.
There is no telling how many items currently listed on the website are fraudulent.
