An Indiana man being investigated for selling counterfeit sports memorabilia was found dead by suicide at his home Wednesday, July 16 when police conducted search warrants at the same residence.
Brett Lemieux, a 45-year-old resident of Westfield, Indiana, was the founder of sports memorabilia site Mister ManCave, which claimed to have sold millions of counterfeit items with net profits exceeding $350 million, and had “the largest framed jersey inventory on the web.”
Lemieux made the claims in a now-deleted Facebook post on the “Autographs 101” group Wednesday, saying the money was “too good” to pass up and that he wanted to stop the fraud, which had been going on for the better part of two decades.
The coroner’s office in Hamilton County, Indiana confirmed that Lemieux’s body was found at 300 block of Hoover Street in Westfield, about 20 miles north of Indianapolis and that he died by suicide. His death took place hours after the Facebook post and where law enforcement conducted search warrants Tuesday.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation, said Chris Bavender of public affairs with the FBI field office in Indianapolis. “We are referring media to Westfield Police Department as they are the lead agency,” Bavender said. The Westfield Police Department did not immediately respond to a request by voicemail and email for additional information.
Kayla Arnold, Director of Communications for the city of Westfield, said, “As the investigation is still ongoing, we do not have additional details to release at this time.”
Lemieux’s scheme involved the faking of holograms of several high-profile companies in the sports memorabilia space, including Fanatics, James Spence Authentic, Panini and Tri-Star. Lemieux allegedly sold the fake items below market price, therefore earning a profit.
Lemieux said when Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant died in January 2020, Mister ManCave released 80,000 fake items “into the marketplace.” He did not say how much he made off of the scheme.
Fanatics, a multibillion-dollar company that sells sports memorabilia and collectibles, told The Athletic it became aware of Lemieux years ago and assisted in the ongoing investigation. Fanatics said it never bought and re-sold products from Lemieux or Mister Mancave.
“Unfortunately, bad actors harm fans and collectors, and that is why two years ago we began implementing the newest, most secure hologram technology available, and we believe our new hologram has not been replicated since,” Fanatics said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. ” The best way for collectors to know that they are buying officially licensed, 100% authenticated memorabilia, is to buy from a reputable primary source.”
Fanatics said it never bought and re-sold products from Mr. Lemieux or Mister Mancave.
Steve Grad, a memorabilia autograph expert, told WRTV, the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis, that Lemieux’s schemes were common knowledge amongst those in the industry.
“People have known about this guy,” Grad said. “They’ve known his work. They know what he’s been up to.
“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.”
In 2013, the Indiana Attorney General’s filed a lawsuit against a Carmel sports memorabilia company owned by Lemieux after customers complained that they never received items they paid for, according to Fox59 in Indianapolis and other media outlets.
He was forced to pay restitution and reached a settlement of $8,550 with the attorney general’s office, according to the Sports Collectors Daily and other media outlets.
(This story was updated with new information.)
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man under investigation for counterfeit sports memorabilia found dead
