A Reading, Pa. man has admitted to forging the signatures of famous authors in copies of their books and then selling those books at inflated prices on eBay. Forrest Smith, III, of Reading pleaded guilty in federal court today to three counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. Prosecutors say he received more than $300,000 from the sales of books by authors that included John Grisham, James Michener, and Truman Capote. They say Smith bought the unsigned books with an account registered in his name and re-sold them as “signed” with an account registered in his wife’s name.
Prosecutors say he carried out the scheme by obtaining documents containing authentic signatures of each author and using ink-based stamps made for the signatures to place them in the books. Smith faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and restitution when he’s sentenced in September.
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