An FBI investigation resulted in a man pleading guilty to selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fake memorabilia.
A former California resident, who now resides in Mexico, pleaded guilty to selling fake sports memorabilia for nearly a decade and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Anthony J. Tremayne, a 58-year-old, sold "memorabilia containing purportedly genuine signatures of famous athletes, musicians, actors, and other celebrities," a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California reportedly read.
In the nine or so years Tremayne was selling memorabilia, he moved items like fraudulent Masters jackets, Pro Football Hall of Fame jackets, signed replica Stanley Cups, signed boxing gloves, and a photo with an alleged Kobe Bryant signature on it.
Items from the Los Angeles Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Los Angeles Kings were all sold with signatures purported to be by members of those teams.
Tremayne's enterprise also consisted of typical celebrity memorabilia from musicians and actors; a fraudulently signed Beatles photo, guitars with fake signatures from Carrie Underwood and Prince, and even a Kardashian-signed picture.
It was the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" photo, that was alleged to have Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian's signatures, that ended up being the item that got Tremayne busted when he unknowingly sold it to an FBI agent for $200 in 2019.
According to ESPN, Tremayne tended to include a "Certificate of Authenticity" with his allegedly genuine signatures, but the FBI determined those also to be fake.
In the end, the estimated price tag for Tremayne's earnings ranged between $250,000 and $550,000, and he now faces a maximum federal prison sentence of up to 20 years. Tremayne was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and three counts of aggravated identity theft.
Tremayne is also accused of fleeing to Mexico to avoid paying $1.4 million in U.S. taxes; Tremayne formerly resided in West Covina, California, but lived in Rosarito, Mexico, when he was apprehended. He later appeared in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California.
However, a plea deal has reportedly reduced Tremayne's charges to just one count of mail fraud.
Other memorabilia that was noted in the federal scoop included forged signatures from actors from "Hunger Games," "Twilight," "Star Wars," and "Captain America."
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The PGA Tour's top golfer and reigning champion of the Masters was arrested and charged outside the course entrance to the PGA Championship. The charges included felony assault of a police officer.
Scottie Scheffler, the number one-ranked golfer in the world, was arrested in a bizarre incident after refusing to stop at the scene of an accident near the entrance of the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
An ESPN reporter named Jeff Darlington witnessed the incident and said that Scheffler was detained after a "misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club."
The traffic outside the golf course was stopped because a man was hit and killed by a shuttle bus at around 5 a.m. ET. The PGA Tour announced it would be delaying tee times due to "an accident near the course."
'Right now, he's going to jail, and there's nothing you can do about it.'
According to Darlington, Scheffler was trying to drive around the crash scene on the median, and when a police officer told him to stop, he continued to drive for another 10-20 yards toward the Valhalla Golf Club entrance.
A cop attached himself to the side of Scheffler's car, an ESPN report described, and the officer then yelled at the golfer.
"The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car. When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car," Darlington wrote on X.
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Scheffler, who won the Masters just a month ago, reportedly asked Darlington, "Can you help?" as he was being detained. The officer instructed Darlington to back away.
"You need to get out of the way," the officer told the sports reporter. "Right now, he's going to jail, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Scheffler was charged with felony assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic, according to local outlet WDRB citing court records.
Shortly after 9 a.m. ET, Scheffler was recorded entering the golf course after his release and was scheduled to tee off at 10:08 a.m.
🚨#WATCH: Scottie Scheffler has arrived at Valhalla Golf Club following his release from jail pic.twitter.com/2SP3gd6T4N
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 17, 2024
Scheffler was released and was ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim, assumed to be the police officer, or any complaining witness.
His court date is scheduled for May 21, 2024, at the Jefferson District Court.
A spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Police Department told outlets that the deceased man was attempting to cross the road early in the morning when he has hit by a bus in the bus lane. The man reportedly died at the scene.
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Scottie Scheffler is now a two-time Masters champion.
After his resounding four-stroke victory on Sunday, the 27-year-old golfer — who also happens to be the No. 1-ranked player in the world — used his moment in the spotlight to highlight the victory secured to him through his faith in Jesus Christ.
"I was sitting around with my buddies this morning, I was a bit overwhelmed, I told them, 'I wish I didn't want to win as badly as I did or as badly as I do. I think it would make the mornings easier,'" Scheffler told reporters.
"And my buddies told me this morning, my victory was secure on the cross," he continued. "And that's a pretty special feeling to know that I'm secure for forever, and it doesn't matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure for forever."
— (@)
Scheffler went on to explain that he believes "today's plans were already laid out many years ago, and I could do nothing to mess up those plans."
"I have been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God's glory. That's pretty much it," he added.
And despite being the world's top golfer for more than two consecutive years, Scheffler described his golf career as "endlessly not satisfying" because, in the end, it's not as important as his family, friends, and faith.
"All I can think about right now is getting home. I'm not thinking about the tournament. I'm not thinking about the green jacket," he said, referring to his wife, who is about to deliver their first child.
"At the end of the day, I think that's what the human heart does. You always want more, and I think you have to fight those things and focus on what's good," he explained. "Because, like I said, winning this golf tournament does not change my identity. My identity is secure, and I cannot emphasize that enough."
Scheffler is a clearly a devoted Christian. He speaks about his faith on the biggest platforms in professional golf.
And his faith is probably the reason why he is dominating professional golf right now, as CBS News observed:
The freedom Scheffler's faith provides — allowing him to be secure in himself knowing all that's required is doing the best he can any given week — is a trait professional golfers strive to achieve through myriad psychological tricks, coaches and techniques.
That this belief system is built into the best player on the planet is an extraordinary benefit. In fact, it's among the reasons why he's the best player on the planet.
"I'm a faithful guy. I believe in a Creator. I believe in Jesus. Ultimately, I think that's what defines me the most," Scheffler said last week before the Masters.
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