A federal court awarded MLB $800,000 on Monday, punishing four counterfeiters for selling unlicensed Yankees merchandise near the stadium. The statutory damages total $800,000 across the four defendants, handing each a $200,000 penalty.

“These guys sold unlicensed Yankees hats near the stadium. The MLB sued them. Today, the court entered a $200,000 judgment in MLB’s favor against each of them (on default…but still). They’re watching,” lawyer Robert Freund reported the development on X.

In 2025, MLB Advanced Media and Major League Baseball Properties filed a case against counterfeiters caught selling unlicensed merchandise of MLB teams. These included the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, near Yankee Stadium, at 51 East 161 Street, Bronx, New York 10451. The civil case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York with Loretta A. Preska as the presiding judge.

The 70-page-long complaint identifies seven forgers named Jemal Dortch, Gregory Simmonds, Alfred Smith, Amadou Balde, Arthur Knight, Darien Andre Caines, and Nathaniel Bowman for trademark infringement. The MLB also alleged that they used multiple aliases while selling these products at different times.

MLB Advanced Media and MLB Properties officially own licensing rights to various apparel and other merchandise of MLB and its teams. They have more than 1000 trademark products, including hats and t-shirts featuring logos of various MLB teams. The complaint stated that MLB officials seized 14 counterfeit Yankees hats and 46 Red Sox caps on June 6, 2025. The complaint also contains photographic evidence provided by the MLB officials.

How did it all begin?

The crackdown against forgers started with a man who goes by five different names. Jemal Dortch, also known as Jamal Dortch, Jamal Wiggins, Jemal Wiggins, and Jamaal Wiggins, was caught selling counterfeit products featuring MLB teams’ logos.

MLB filed the complaint against Dortch in July 2025. The organization identified Dortch as a serial offender who has continued selling despite repeated warnings to stop.

According to Sportico, the initial complaint further revealed that MLB hired undercover investigators to act as buyers of the forged merchandise near Yankee Stadium. Between September 2022 and June 2025, investigators caught Dortch 18 times selling those products. Despite a cease-and-desist letter in July 2024 and prior arrests in September 2022 and April 2023, Dortch resumed sales within weeks each time.

However, he was back to doing the same thing a few weeks later. The MLB seeks a permanent injunction to block him from selling products bearing the MLB trademark. They also demanded that Dortch be prohibited from making any statements that can lead consumers to believe his products are legit. But most importantly, the organization wanted the unauthorized products to be destroyed, alongside financial compensation.

Though the judgment was passed on default, the MLB can only hope that it is enough to stop the scammers.