From the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania:
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a former owner of a group of internet sports memorabilia businesses pleaded guilty before United States District Court Judge John E. Jones, III, in Harrisburg, to a $2.5 million dollar fraud scheme.
The Criminal Information was filed in January 2016 pursuant to a plea agreement entered into between the United States and Shores. The agreement, which is subject to the approval by the court, includes joint recommendations relating to loss amounts, forfeiture allegations, and an agreement to pay restitution as determined by the court. Judge Jones ordered a presentence investigation to be completed, and no sentencing date has been scheduled.
According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Joshua Aaron Shores, age 41, of Bel Air, Maryland and also of Ocean City, Maryland, pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud based upon Shores’ five-year scheme, between 2008 and 2013, to obtain money and property by dealing in counterfeit and fraudulent sports memorabilia. Shores created, owned, and operated internet businesses under the names of Dealakhan, LLC, Stadium Authentics, Autograph Showcase, Sunset Beach, End Game Sports, Authenticgraph, and others with facilities in York County, Pennsylvania and in Maryland, and used the businesses to traffic in counterfeit and fraudulent sports memorabilia.
Shores represented addresses of mailbox receiving services to customers as his business address, created and registered PayPal and Amazon.com accounts in his name and in the names of others to receive payments from customers, purchased counterfeit sports jerseys in bulk from China and affixed fraudulent autographs to them representing them to be authentic autographs of well-known athletes and sports figures, and also using fake certificates of authenticity. According to the Criminal Information, Shores unlawfully obtained approximately $2.5 million dollars from buyers of the fraudulent items.
The Criminal Information also seeks forfeiture of real property located in Ocean City, Maryland, U.S. currency in the approximate amount of $140,000, and an additional amount of $26,000 in proceeds related to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a sports utility vehicle. The government will also seek restitution for victims of the fraud scheme.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The charge of Wire Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Won’t be long now. Sayonara, douchebag!
Poor Josh, and his restaurant is getting slammed every day on yelp by legitimate reviews. You would think after being open for 3 months he would have gotten the problems worked out, but it appears failure is his life’s destiny
What do they say, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the crime.
What restaurant is it?
Ocean City Brewery in Abingdon. Great beer but that’s about it.
In your effort to be one of the first respondents to this article, you flubbed your delivery.
They say, “Don’t to the crime, if you can’t do the time.”
Minion – I believe it is the Ocean City Brewing Company in Abingdon. I would also doubt that the entirety of the reviews on Yelp are what one would consider “legitimate”.
Why, I scanned through the reviews and saw one mention of Josh’s escapades our of 67. The remainder tell it like it is. The place sucks.
Dave,
Thanks – I was just speaking in general terms about the legitimacy of what can be found online in the form of “reviews”. I have only had the beer there, no complaints.
Is the food that bad?
Defined getting “slammed”. In the restaurant biz, that term means that the place is “super f-ing busy”.
Judging by the parking lot when I drive by at night, yep…slammed.
No need for words, this is the “slammed” definition as it relates to prison life. Enjoy.
Yeah, something tells me that I don’t really want to watch that! LOL
It was on a Prison documentary that aired on television, probably not a basic cable network channel as there is profanity laced words.
All I saw was a reference to tossing salad, and not at Golden Corral.
You’re so cute, Snoot. For someone who has invested such time and energy into discussing this place online, and as you obviously live near driving distance , I find it soooo hard to believe you’ve never actually set foot in there.
Also, besides being a liar and thief, you’re also delusional. The place is dead all week long. Their employees are dropping like flies. Everyone wants out. Nobody wants shitty, overpriced criminal food.
Feather, or whatever stripper name you call yourself at night, I have never eaten there. I did, however, frequent Joe’s Crab Shack…if you want to call that “setting foot in there”. Never under OCBC management.
I am not defending the criminal in question, since you seem to narrow mindedly think that anyone who has a different opinion than yours MUST be somehow related. My original intent, if you go back and read, was to poke fun at the people who immediately stated, ” I will never eat at that place because he is a criminal”.
If those hypocrites, yourself probably included, managed to do any minute amount of research, you would find that many establishments in the area are under management / ownership of “criminals”. Maybe not to the extent that Mr. Shores is, but a criminal nonetheless.
Thank you for recognizing my cuteness 🙂
What a complete, f*ucking scumbag! Seriously, there is nothing remotely legitimate or forthright about doing this. That scam was malicious through and through. The sole driver was greed. I hope he gets pounded in the ass real good and hard.
Someone’s gonna be taking a ride on the good ole fashioned blue bird soon. Lmao!!!
So after he steals 2.5 million dollars all he has left is $140,000 cash, a condo in ocean city , motorcycle and an suv?
Where did the money go?
Dude needs to get a better job than managing a failing restaurant, he’s got a lot of money to pay back.
He spent and spent and spent…alot of it is probably holed up in property that has been transferred out of his name. Houses, cars, etc…
Just because the complaint only lists $140K in cash to be seized, does not mean that is everything that he has. There was a prior plea agreement that probably laid that out.
He opened 2 restaurants, well “his mother did”. That is probably where the money went.
this is one of the stories i read in The Dagger, like everyone else, and wonder at first when we read the headline, ‘Do I know this person?’
Then, reading on, we, some of us, not all of us, realize we do not know this person. We are relieved. We have be spared.
Exactly, if you don’t know the man personally, there is no reason to engage in personal attacks on someone you don’t know.
Save that for Obama.
Are you serious? Only a complete a##hole would hatch and go through with this scheme. I don’t care if he plays a clown for kids with cancer on the weekend.
Also, the restaurant in Abingdon sucks. It is not going to last. Food is overpriced, portions are small, food is marginal at best, service is terrible, and the owner is a complete douche. Yes, that’s a real recipe for success.
Obviously, you are some sort of friend or relative of this guy. Trying to defend him, especially here, is gonna be an uphill battle. If you were such a good f#cking friend, you would have advised him against stealing–yes, STEALING–from innocent sports fans.
***sigh***
Not defending him, for the umpteenth time. Not related, never met him, never ate their.
Trolling the fact that people are so quick to point fingers, take it how you will. This is the internet, and you have a safe haven to be as big of an asshole as you want to be to other people without repercussion.
When you are done, your wife wants you to put on the red dress, and feed the cats.
*there
Thanks.
Ostracize
Criminally
Bankrolled
Cantinas
Where is Snooty to set the record straight?
haha, he is probably meeting with his accountant or leaving for OC to pack up his condo right now!
Channeling his inner JT Huntley. Actually there is no free wifi at the federal court house.
Carol,
Thanks for assuming (because you know what assumptions do to people), however, 1. I am not Mr. Shores…never claimed to be, and never stuck up for him (suggest you go back and read the previous posts I made to the initial article).
2. I am not this ‘HT Huntley’ that you speak of. I do recall there being a few comments by a ‘JT Huntsley’ on the previous article, but I am sure that you know better judging by your snooty tone in many of your posts here on The Dagger.
Wouldn’t know about the free WiFi at the Federal Court House, are you a frequent visitor there yourself?
HT? Maybe a coincidence that both you and JT have a third grade reading level and really suck at trolling the interwebs anonymously. I left the “s” out of Huntsley intentionally because I knew it would draw you out.
Thanks for playing and enjoy your time in prison you deserve it. Hope you aren’t as easy in the big house than you are here.
No, you didn’t leave the ‘s’ out purposely. Read your other posts, they are just as illiterate and grammatically incorrect. Then again, nobody is perfect…the ‘H’ was a typo.
Once again, I find it hard to believe that people are as narrow minded as you want to believe that just because somebody has a difference of opinion, and chooses not to engage in personal bashing of someone they don’t know, that they must be the person in question.
Please show me where I have ever, just once, defended him? Never.
If you had an education beyond High School, and comprehended things other than what yoga pants are in fashion at The Arena Club, then you would see that I was – in fact – sticking up for the employees of the restaurant and calling people out for being the typical snovs that Bel Air is known for.
As for sucking at trolling, well…you called me out by name on a completely different thread, several weeks later.
Do me bubba … stick it in my prison purse like you own me…..
I’ll toss your salad bubba like it’s never been tossed before.
Nice, you couldn’t come up with your own name.
Carol / Feather, etc…get an imagination.
Further proof, that the trolling was successful.
Being copied in an attempt to be shamed…silly lady, this is the internet. There are no feelings.
Good Morning everyone, and thanks for mentioning me by name! I am honored!
I am not sure what you remember, Sword, but it seems you are mistaken. I have nothing to set straight…don’t know the man, never been to his place…and am not affected by his criminal activities.
Nothing to set straight here, he pleaded guilty…what else is there?
Me thinks you doth protesteth too much for someone not “affected”. One of his frat buddies? Have an axe to grind with the ex?
It’s him! It always has been! Do you honestly believe some random troller would have had this much insider information? No effing way! The douche did a brief stint at Essex CC, never cool enough to be in a frat. Yes, he has friends, but I honestly don’t think any of them would care this much to continue this hilarious charade. I unfortunately knew him personally, and this is par for the course with him. He is psychotic.
Essex CC has frats?
No axe to grind with the ex, where did she come into this?
For the hundredth time, I am not defending the guy. I am making fun of people like you who take offense to someone with a difference of opinion…which is further affirmed by the fact that you keep replying with the same, tired argument. Do I defendnhis actions? Hello no, the guy is a complete douche for trying to pull this off…but it happens everywhere. More than 80% of the “autographed” items on auction sites (eBay, etc…) are forged. Yet, people keep buying the shit.
Myself, I prefer to spend a few hundred on something other than a piece of cloth that someone put a signature on…real or fake, it isn’t a sound investment (in my opinion.
As for “Be4Real”, stop coming in like you have some revelation. Go back and read through every comment I made on the previous article…I don’t have any ” insider” information. All of the information that I have posted / shared in reference to this case has been freely obtained through the magic of Google. If you can show where I have “insider” information, then I will gladly share where it can be found.
You can certainly try for yourself, if you didn’t have your head up every other housewife’s ass trying to fit in and get gossip soo that you are the “it” girl of the week. Be sure to post this to Facebook, that through a thorough search, YOU deem that someone who dare make fun of people MUST be the criminal in question. Maybe you can be the cool girl for the week and get the most likes.
I don’t know the guy, never met him, but go look at his FB page if you want info. Much of it is set to Public. Case Search is free, Tax Records are freely available, Business Records, Licensing, Property Info…it is all out there for the finding.
If you actually open your ears, and stop being so narrow minded. The fact that all of you, or one of you with multiple names, keeps spewing the same…tired…boring…easy argument, shows that my troll has worked! 🙂
Well let’s see..in the previous post, you knew that he and his ex were never married. How would you know that? She uses her maiden name true, but lots of married women do. You also said they “vacation together, are always together”. How would you know that? Neither of them have anything publicly posted stating that or showing that. And let’s not forget the alleged article about him saving 2 people from drowning. I searched for that article as per your instructions and didn’t find a shred of evidence supporting that.
Inside. Information.
Got it. How about the fact you only post on the stories relating to this topic? Why aren’t you playing the knight in shining armor on other Dagger stories? Because you are either the guy or close to him.
If you aren’t and you went to all those lengths to piece his life together, in the best of cases you are a stalker.
Judge Jones, the prosecuting attorney Michelle Olshefski, and all the victims very well might read this romper room foolishness that Snotty has been posting before Mr. Shores sentencing date. Snotty, if you are Mr. Shores, than I think that you would regret to have this nonsense entered into the presentencing investigation.
Hey Beavis, I am pretty sure I did the trolling here. I paged you and you came running with paragraphs long diatribes about blah blah blah…
Good times.
You claim “inside”, yet you are here saying you know him personally.
I know his sister. Never met him. Never talked to him.
So, mystery solved…but no big lie or conspiracy on my part.
For the record…however….the fact they were never married was something I made an assumption on since in Case Search (MD) one of the briefs under one of the the several Protective Orders, it stated the couple was ” not married”. Furthermore, under a few of the custody disputes for the kids it stated “couple never married”. Again, freely available for those who open their narrow minds.
As far as the vacation, if you looked at his profile when this first broke, there was a public post about ” escaping the winter storm”/in MD, with a photo of them in Florida. Again, public…but you may consider that “insider”. The ‘always’ together comment…their kids play sports, on many of the same leagues as a few of my friends kids…and a few of my kids. Not the same teams, but same league. Always together. In public.
The article is there, that is where I read it. Look harder instead of going out of your way to try to prove people wrong just because YOU don’t believe them.
Thanks for going back and reading the previous.
For the rest, since I have to appease my audience?!
Scum – I post on a great many stories here on Dagger. Just use different names depending on mood. Yes, the horror…but then again, I admit it. Have never seen your name on any, so I guess the same is true for you. Before Carol gets an orgasm…no, I am not JT Huntsley.
Dog the Rabbit Hunter – not Mr. Shores, sorry to burst the bubble and ruin the revelation.
Sword of Fallacy – You need to look at the definition of what an internet troll is / does. You requested my presence, I obliged. You keep getting flustered, and looking for ways to try and call someone out or tonprove someone wrong so you can appear famous. It has failed, your theories have not been proved right…
Continue to post as Sword / Carol / Harford Mom…whomever you wish.
Troll complete. He pleaded guilty.
Next?
There was never any picture like that posted, at least not in recent years. It doesn’t state they weren’t married at all under their custody dispute in any section. There was never any drowning save. You have been posting so much under so many different names you can’t keep track of what you post. Please keep it up. I find this highly entertaining and further proof of what a whack job he is.
What picture? It was an article in a lousy, low-readership “newspaper” on the Eastern Shore if the grand “save” is what you are referring to. Don’t care, not defending the guy – just providing fact in this realm of speculation.
Yes, the comments are there, read closely. There is no case involving a dissolution / divorce, so there is further info from which to form an opinion. Like I said, I also know his sister…so there’s that for confirmation.
I am not defending the guy, not in the slightest fashion – he is douchebag for doing what he did to so many people. The reality? It is a white-collar crime, so he won’t get “hard time” like many are calling for. Any time that he does spend incarcerated will be at a Federal Prison, not a local one in MD. Think of the place where Martha Stewart spent her “hard time”…a hotel with bars.
I use 3 different names, and yes…I am very capable of keeping up since I don’t use the same name one the same article.
I also find this entertaining…seeing people come back over and over – under different names (although I freely admit to using multiple names) to try and prove THEIR point, instead of one that is made of fact.
Agree with you on the “whack job” comment. If he is as big of a d1ck in his establishment as what is reported, then the place does deserve to close. My pity is with the employees who will be affected…not him, not his consipiring family members, and not his business partners who can cover losses legally. However, since you stated you know him personally, you should have a first-hand account of what a douche he is.
Look at his profile picture…the beard, popped collar, and 3 top buttons open on his shirt should tell you that.
Blah blah blah…something pithy…blah blah blah…last word…blah blah blah…the world is flat…
Sword, I hope you are giggling as much as I am at him!
Yep, still working.
Would you all please stop linking me to Josh. This is really screwing up my possible parole.
I’m so tired of trying to argue that I am not Josh. Now excuse me while I go house 6 of my nasty flatbread pizzas and 5 dozen chicken wings. I’m working very hard to gain even more disgusting bloated fat. I hear the fat guys don’t get ass pounded as much in prison as the skinny ones.