OCEAN CITY — A local restaurant owner charged late last week in an alleged $2.5 million counterfeit sports memorabilia scheme has reached a plea agreement that will include the forfeiture of certain real estate and other personal property, but it appears his resort business will not be included on the list.
On Friday, Ocean City Brewing Company owner Joshua Shores, 41, of Pennsylvania and Ocean City, was charged in U.S. District Court in connection with a $2.5 million fraud scheme involving counterfeit sports memorabilia sold over the Internet through his various companies over a period from January 2008 to May 2013. Shores, who owns and operates the Ocean City Brewing Company in the resort, allegedly created various Internet businesses in Pennsylvania and Maryland to traffic counterfeit and fraudulent sports memorabilia.
Shores has entered a plea agreement in U.S. District Court although the plea has not been formalized. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, along with a maximum fine of $250,000 along with the forfeiture of a residential property on Chicago Ave. in Ocean City, various vehicles and other personal property allegedly obtained through the proceeds of the fraud scheme. However, not listed among the property included for potential forfeiture is the Ocean City Brewing Company on Coastal Highway in the resort, nor its sister brewery and restaurant operation in Bel Air, Md.
According to the charging documents filed on Friday, Shores, through his various Internet companies, obtained counterfeit sports jerseys in bulk from China and affixed autographs to them including the signatures of well-known professional athletes and sports figures. Shores then sold the fraudulent jerseys along with other sports memorabilia through his Internet businesses with fraudulent certificates of authenticity.
“It was part of the scheme that on multiple occasions, Shores purchased counterfeit sports jerseys in bulk from China,” the charging documents read.
“He also purchased sports items such as mini-football helmets, footballs and baseballs from retail stores and a wholesaler. These items were used in the furtherance of the scheme.”
The charging documents assert Shores affixed onto the counterfeit sports jerseys and sports items fraudulent autographs purported to be the authentic autograph of notable athletes and sports figures. Shore allegedly rented mailboxes and established mail receiving services with companies located in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Unsuspecting buyers purchased the fraudulent memorabilia from Shores’ Internet businesses through PayPal and Amazon accounts he created.
In one example, in September 2012, a federal agent operating in an undercover capacity in New Jersey conducted an online purchase of a Cliff Lee-autographed Philadelphia Phillies jersey from Stadium Authentics for $249.95 plus shipping. The item’s description as it appeared on Stadium Authentics website stated “This is an authentic Cliff Lee Philadelphia Phillies Majestic Baseball Jersey autographed by Cliff Lee. This authentic jersey was hand-signed and the signature is not a print.”
Upon receipt of the jersey by the undercover agent, the item was sent to the MLB’s Authentication Department in New York. After reviewing the item for authenticity, a licensed Majestic Sports authentication group determined that the jersey was counterfeit. That is just one example. The charging documents assert Shores “fraudulently obtained approximately $2.5 million by selling various counterfeit and fraudulent sports memorabilia by means of wire communications in interstate commerce via his many internet businesses during the years 2008 through 2013.”
Shores faces 20 years in prison and a fine as high as $250,000, along with the forfeiture or personal property, including a residence in Ocean City, which were deemed to be obtained from the proceeds of the fraud scheme. However, nowhere in the charging documents is the Ocean City Brewing Company mentioned on the list of potential personal property ripe for forfeiture.
For his part, Shores over the weekend attempted to deflect any attention from the Ocean City Brewing Company in the resort, or its sister operation in Bel Air.
“I am sure everyone is confused and wondering what is going on,” Shores said in an statement released on Facebook. “There are a lot of negative untrue remarks being said and written about me, so I would like to clarify what is going on. Ocean City Brewing and Distilling Company will in no way be affected by my situation.”
In the statement, Shores owned up to the fraud scheme charges although there were a few anomalies between his statement and the charging documents. For example, he did admit purchasing counterfeit sports jerseys in bulk from China, but denied the autographs later affixed were fraudulent. In addition, he referenced building the sports memorabilia company for the last 30 years although he is only 41 years old. Nonetheless, Shores did own up to the fraud scheme he characterized as “poor choices.”
“If you want to know the truth, I imported Chinese replica jerseys and had athletes autograph them,” the statement reads. “By not using official sports jerseys, it tainted anything I sold and destroyed a successful sports company that I had built over the last 30 years. I just made some poor decisions that I deeply regret and I wish I could take back.”
Shores said in the statement he accepted blame and is pleading guilty to the charges to deflect attention away from his other interests.
“To keep a lot of business associates, friends and family out of this, I decided to take full responsibility by myself and plead guilty to the charges we negotiated with the federal government,” the statement reads. “I am not afraid of the rumors or shying away from what happened, again, I just made some poor choices.”
Shores said in the statement it should be business as usual for the Ocean City Brewing Company in the resort, regardless of his personal situation.
“I will now focus on the positive,” the statement reads. “Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have helped create and build Ocean City Brewing Company into what it is today and will continue to do so. Ocean City Brewing Company will always be a family-run operation, built on family values and with this philosophy, we will continue to grow and succeed. I want to say thank you to all my friends, customers and family that are standing by me through this and I appreciate the continued support.”
