The Preserver hoax was a scandalous incident in which three non-related but friendly Orion families sold counterfeit Preserver artifacts and documents to gullible Federation historians. They made a small fortune, while several reputations were shattered.
The complete story was recounted in Swindle! The Sale of Fraudulent Science by E. B. Murray et al., published in New York, Earth, by Simon and MacMillan Books, on reference stardate 2/14 (c. 2270s) (FASA RPG module: The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge).