This is a reference to some individuals and groups who pretended to have affection for and claimed affiliation with the House of the Prophet. Hossein Modarressi uses this reference to argue that some "esoterics" attempted to attempted to acquire social distinction by setting themselves up as devoted supporters of the Shīʿī cause and would often forge materials and ideas and ascribe them to the Imams.
This source is part of the Online Companion to Hossein Modarressi, Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law (Harvard University Press, 2022).