90%of autographed sports memorabilia estimated forged by Operation Bullpen investigators
FBI investigators on the Operation Bullpen case estimated that 50 to 90 percent of autographed sports memorabilia then in circulation was forged.
The investigation ran from 1999 to 2006, shut down 18 forgery rings, and produced more than 60 convictions. Four more federal cases from 2017 to 2025 show the same tactics have not disappeared.
Source: Wikipedia. Read more: sports memorabilia fraud