One of the Youngstown, Ohio area men who pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection with a long-running fake autograph scam has withdrawn his plea and is asking for a trial.
Jason Moore had agreed to a plea deal that would have given him a three-year prison term, but at his sentencing hearing Tuesday, Moore professed his innocence and said his attorney misled him.
He was one of several men charged with producing phony autographs and selling them online for several years. The Mahoning County prosecutor indicated the scam involved over $2 million in purchases.
WYTV in Youngstown was in the courtroom when Moore addressed the judge at his sentencing hearing.
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Dak Prescott, who won the Cowboys’ starting quarterback job after an injury to Tony Romo, has already been popular with collectors. Now, his autograph is on a major memorabilia website.
Fanatics recently conducted a private signing session with Prescott and the company is selling a line of autographed jerseys, helmets, photos and other items on its website.
Fanatics recently signed rookie QBs Carson Wentz and Jared Goff to autograph deals.
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Heritage Auctions, which bills itself as the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer, says it now has more than 1 million registered online bidders. Heritage encompasses fine art, jewelry, luxury real estate, fine wines, intellectual property and collectibles including rare coins, comic books and sports and entertainment memorabilia.
Heritage officials said the world’s third largest auction house now is adding clients at a rate of about 5,000 a month.
“We have added more than 150,000 new clients since January 2014, with an increasing number from fast-growing, affluent areas across Europe, Asia and Latin America,” said company CEO Steve Ivy. “Institutions as well as individuals are increasingly joining the site to find rare and relevant additions to permanent exhibits and collections.
“Heritage was built – and is owned by – collectors, so we think like collectors. We want our clients to feel confident and comfortable so they can buy and sell on their own terms.”
Heritage celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, and now has 600+ employees, and total sales of more than $800 million in prices realized across 40 different collecting categories.
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