Douglas Duren's nine-year forged autograph operation across three websites
Douglas Edward Duren bought unsigned sports equipment, movie posters, books and photographs, forged the signatures of athletes and celebrities onto them, and sold the items as authentic through three websites he ran for nine years, from 2010 through 2019, moving the operation from Maryland to Atlanta along the way. He also posed as an advertising agency employee to place TV commercials for the websites and failed to pay one Alabama station $80,000 for the airtime. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced in August 2021 in federal court in Birmingham, Alabama, to 40 months in prison.
- Year
- 2021
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Sports memorabilia fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-11-01
The facts, as recorded
- Duren obtained items without existing autographs, such as sports equipment, photographs, books and movie posters, then forged the signatures of athletes and celebrities onto them, including signatures attributed to figures connected to the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, an "Avengers: Endgame" poster, and books presented as signed by a former US president and former first lady.
- The scheme ran from 2010 through October 2019 across three fraudulent websites, starting in Maryland before he moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
- He impersonated an advertising agency account director to place commercials for the websites on television stations in the Northern District of Alabama, and did not pay one Birmingham station $80,000 owed for the airtime.
- He agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in March 2021, facing a potential maximum of 20 years in prison and forfeiture of $277,000.
- US District Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced him on August 6, 2021, to 40 months in prison.
- FBI agents who investigated the case later observed him in Atlanta purchasing a baseball in a display case and a pack of permanent markers.
Why this case matters
This case has no counterfeit manufacturing at all, no fake jerseys, no fabricated trophies, just real, unsigned objects and a forged signature. It shows the simplest possible version of the scheme: the only thing fabricated is the autograph itself, which is also why it is one of the hardest versions to detect without expert signature analysis.
Funding the fraud with more fraud
Duren did not just sell forged autographs; he used the proceeds to pay for the websites that sold them, and when that still was not enough, he impersonated an advertising agency employee to get free television airtime, leaving one Alabama station unpaid for $80,000 in commercials. The forgery and the advertising fraud were two parts of the same operation, not separate incidents.
The caveat
Duren pleaded guilty and was sentenced by the court; the facts above reflect that plea and sentencing, not an unproven allegation. The total dollar amount of victim losses was not stated in either source consulted for this case and is recorded here as not available, distinct from the $277,000 forfeiture exposure named in his plea agreement, which is a potential penalty rather than a stated loss figure.
Sources
- Md. man gets federal charges for selling fake autographed gear. The Daily Record (Associated Press). Accessed 2026-11-01. Supports: The plea agreement terms, the nine-year scheme length, the three websites, the specific forged items including the Avengers poster and presidential books, the advertising-agency impersonation and $80,000 unpaid airtime, the FBI's surveillance detail, and the $277,000 forfeiture exposure.
- Georgia man sentenced in fake autograph scheme in Alabama. FOX 5 Atlanta (Associated Press). Accessed 2026-11-01. Supports: The 40-month sentence, the sentencing date, the presiding judge's name, the Birmingham federal court venue, and confirmation of the nine-year, three-website scheme and the advertising fraud.