Bel Air Restaurateur Jailed For Former Business Schemes

BEL AIR, MD - A Bel Air restaurateur was sentenced this week to five years in prison for a $2.5 million fraud scheme involving counterfeit sports memorabilia.

Joshua Aaron Shores, 44, who lives in Bel Air and Ocean City and opened OC Brewing Company in Abingdon in 2015, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud related to his previous business interests.

Shores ran sports memorabilia businesses located in Maryland and Pennsylvania under the names Autograph Showcase, Sunset Beach, End Game Sports, Stadium Authentics and Authenticgraph.

He admitted that he purchased jerseys in bulk from China, forged autographs of well-known sports figures on them, created false certificates of authenticity and collected $2.5 million in sales using Amazon and Paypal accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney.

While operating the businesses from 2008 to 2013, Shores opened 80 bank accounts at five different institutions, in his name and others who had no knowledge that he was using their identities, officials said.

For pleading guilty to wire fraud, he was sentenced to 60 months in prison Thursday in federal court.

After his prison time, Shores will be on supervised probation for two years. He must also pay $500,000 in restitution; pay a fine of $5,000; and forfeit assets worth $140,000, the U.S. Attorney said.

The FBI and Homeland Security investigated the case, which was heard in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Prosecutors called Shores an "adept con man" and encouraged the judge to sentence him to up to nine years, according to Delmarva Now, which reported his attorney argued he should be granted a lesser sentence due to his subsequent successful business enterprises.

Shores was the manager of Ocean City Brewing Company, which has locations in Ocean City and Abingdon, and reportedly plans to set up shop in Salisbury. Delmarva Now reported that the businesses were owned by his mother, Donna Shores. He said in a statement to the publication that the brewing company would "always be a family-run operation."

At the time his plea deal was announced in 2016, Shores said in a statement to Patch that he was wrong in his past actions and he would make it right going forward.

"In the several years since any illegal sales stopped, I have worked hard to rebuild my personal and business life," Shores told Patch. "I have assisted in starting new businesses and worked hard to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Once I have fulfilled my responsibilities to any victims and the court system, I look forward to resuming many lawful business ventures and making amends for my bad decisions which led to these charges.”

• Bel Air Man Charged in $2.5M Sports Memorabilia Scheme
• Ocean City Taphouse Opening in Abingdon
• Brewing Company from Ocean City Expanding into Harford

Image via Shutterstock.