BroBible
Two men and a woman have been arrested for selling $200,000 worth of fake Jason Kelce memorabilia. The forged Jason Kelce-signed memorabilia added up to more than 1,100 items in total.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Upper Merion Township Chief Blaine Leis charged Robert Capone, 51, of Philadelphia; LeeAnn Branco, 43, of Bristol, R.I.; and Joseph Parenti, 39, Cranston, R.I., on charges of forgery, theft by deception, and deceptive business practices. The three suspects were charged with 60 felony counts in total, including dealing in the proceeds of unlawful practices.
ABC 6 News reports the fake memorabilia was claimed to have been signed by Jason Kelce at a real event that did happen at the Valley Forge Casino Hotel on June 11-12, 2024. The items were put up for sale by Overtime Promotions, owned by Capone, and Diamond Legends, owned by Parenti.
“The items were ‘verified’ by Branco, an employee of Beckett Authentication Services. The value of these 1,138 memorabilia items-including signed jerseys, helmets, mini-helmets, hats, photos, footballs and other items — was approximately $200,000,” the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office said in a statement.
“Montgomery County Detectives and Upper Merion Police were alerted to the fraud and theft, by TCH Humphreys LLC, a sports memorabilia company located in Royersford, that had contracted with Kelce to conduct official signings of memorabilia” at the event. “These legitimate memorabilia items signed by Jason Kelce were verified by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA). The investigation found that Capone, Parenti and Branco conspired to use Branco’s Beckett Authentication Services credentials to create counterfeit autographed sport memorabilia and then offered it for sale as authentically contracted-for products signed by Kelce.”
Branco even went so far as to take a photo with Jason Kelce at the event in an attempt to validate her “in-the-presence authentication” of the forged memorabilia that was never actually signed by the former Eagles star.
“A bad-acting independent contractor broke Beckett protocols. Luckily, we have identified this scheme, involved the authorities to take all proper legal action and are now looking to buy back all the fraudulent memorabilia,” Beckett Authentication Services stated in an email. The authentication company has also filed a lawsuit against Parenti and Branco.
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