Nov 18, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN personality and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce on set before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Jason Kelce has signed thousands of autographs in his day, but according to a lawsuit filed by Beckett Collectibles, there's 1,138 items that he didn't actually sign that bear his signature.
In a bizarre allegation, first unearthed by Clict, a news outlet for the Collectibles industry, Beckett is suing Diamond Legends, a Rhode Island memorabilia store, and the owner and operator for concocting a scheme to forge and then fraudulently authenticate 1,138 items purportedly signed by Kelce.
According to the lawsuit, Beckett had a contract with Lee-Ann Branco to provide authentication services by witnessing Kelce sign the items in question. Branco allegedly said she witnessed Kelce sign more than 1,000 items - footballs, helmets and jerseys - at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia last June. Branco is employed by Diamond Sports and it's owner, Joe Parenti.
The thing is, there is no evidence that Kelce was ever in attendance at the event identified by Branco.
According to the lawsuit, Parenti offered a conflicting timeline, saying the Kelce signing took place a day later than Branco said, and that it occurred at another location, not the Casino Resort as claimed by Branco.
“Branco and Parenti have conflicting stories on what happened. But one thing remains certain — Kelce never signed the items. Instead, defendants flooded the market with forged autographed items, which they then sold,” the suit alleges, according to Clict. “[U]nfortunately, many were duped, including Beckett.”
(Editor's note: Lawyer Paul Lesko has a great thread on X that takes you through the entire lawsuit. I highly recommend:)
Yesterday, I lamented that we were two weeks into 2025...and no one had filed a new #TheHobby lawsuit BUT in that time we'd lost two cases (they were settled and/or disposed of).
Well, fret no more...we have the first #TheHobby lawsuit of 2025 to celebrate!
THANKS BECKETT! pic.twitter.com/b7WZdsY3Tb
Authenticators, like Branco, are required to submit certificates of authenticity to Beckett to register autographed items. Branco submitted them and was paid by Beckett for her service.
The organizer of an event that actually included Kelce, saw the items and immediately believed them to be forged. Becket was contacted by police investigators. After speaking with the police and conducting an internal investigation. Beckett determined Kelce did not sign the items.
Beckett reached back out to Branco and asked her to sign a sworn affidavit that Kelce was present at the signing. She refused and offered a photo of her with Kelce as evidence it took place. However, Beckett claims, according to Clict that the photo was from a different occasion in which Branco met Kelce through a mutual acquaintance.
Beckett is alleging fraud on the part of Branco, Parenti and Diamond Legends, and that Branco committed a breach of contract with them.
Beckett is also alleging that fraud of this magnitude is damaging to its reputation as the leading authenticator of sports memorabilia in the world. Beckett claims to have authenticated more than 2 million autographed items in 2024 alone.
As a result, Beckett would also like to stop Branco from continuing to be an authenticator, and certainly not representing herself as an agent of theirs. The suit alleges that Branco has refused to return her credentials saying she is a representative of Beckett. The company claims they have no way to stop her from using those credentials.
As for Parenti and Diamond Legends, the suit seeks to prevent them from selling, distributing or disposing of any items featuring Beckett's authentication marks, including the signed items with Kelce's fraudulent signature.
The Diamond Legends online store has not stopped selling Beckett-authenticated items. While none of the items are signed by Jason Kelce, there is stuff signed by Travis Kelce that has a Beckett certification.
According to Clict, Signed Jason Kelce memorabilia authenticated by Beckett can range from around $185 for a mini helmet to around $1,000 for a framed jersey display.
Beckett told Clict it will be paying back affected customers a 100% refund of their costs for the fraudulently-signed items, an expense it expects to total around $250,000. In order to receive the refund, customers will need to submit proof of purchase and receipts to Beckett.
