THE AUTOGRAPH "BUSINESS" NEWS AND NOTES
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Sources are indicating that a grand jury is reviewing evidence in a case involving some of the biggest players in the sports memorabilia business.They are supposedly edging closer to bringing indictments, possibly before September.
There’s no word yet on the exact scope of the ongoing probe, believed to be based at the Chicago office of the FBI.
Perhaps the upcoming National Convention will be interesting for more than one reason.
An autograph sting operation
It appears that a "sting" operation has taken place in the autograph hobby. Apparently, computer reprinted photos, with copy autographs, were sent to some very well known authenticators, who then authenticated these items as legitimate. I say apparently because I have read this on an anonymous website, where the author is too cowardly to come out and sign his name to his stories, so I cannot give the information total credibility. I have since read information about the infamous ownership of this website but have not been able to verify that information. If I can verify it, I will post it here. However, since this sting was attempted on me also, it might be a credible story. I believe that the individual or individuals behind the sting tried to perpetrate this sting on me also. I received a group of four photos with alleged autographs on them. One of them turned out to be a copy of an autographed photo, with a copy autograph. I identified it as such to the person who sent me the photos. A couple of weeks later that same person sent me one more photo, which was also a copy of an autographed photo. I also correctly identified the alleged autograph as not being an autograph but a copy of an autograph. If these incidents were actually a sting, and trying to make me look incompetent, well guys it did not work. And to Mr. XXX in New Jersey and whoever else may have been involved in this, if indeed it was a sting, thanks very much for sending me authentication fees for five items. I am gonna take the Mrs. out to a nice dinner with your compliments. p.s. The Mrs and I had a nice dinner on you guys. Please try again.
Coaches Corner, a Pennsylvania auction company, and the BBB
Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F.
Reasons for this rating include: Number of complaints filed against business. Failure to respond to complaints filed against business.
As any schoolboy or girl knows F is the worst grade you can get.
That is a worse grade then American Memorabilia's D grade. Wonder what would compel the BBB to give Coaches Corner an F?
Perhaps a consignor got angry when his Albert Einstein autograph only sold for $200? Perhaps a lot of (well a few) consignors were unhappy with such low prices realized. Perhaps the consignors are complaining to the BBB. Nah.
Ah well, that's life in the autograph world.
Donald Frangipani Lawsuit Dismissed
HBO, Richard Simon, PSA and James Spence won dismissal of a $5 million defamation lawsuit by a Brooklyn, New York handwriting expert who accused the network and “Real Sports” host Bryant Gumbel of tying him to a forgery ring and accused the authenticating companies of violations against his authentication business. U.S. District Judge George Daniels rejected claims in Manhattan federal court Tuesday by Donald Frangipani, who claimed, in his lawsuit, he had more than 40 years of experience in forensic documents. In his 2008 lawsuit, Frangipani accused HBO of violating New York State defamation law over a January 2006 “Real Sports” segment, “Forger’s Paradise,” in which it portrayed him as the authenticator of choice for a forgery ring broken up by the FBI in 2000. The arrests the FBI made led to over 30 indictments and guilty pleas,though Mr. Frangipani was not indicted by the Federal government. Frangipani also alleged that large authentication companies (myself, PSA and James Spence) violated federal antitrust and racketeering laws by conspiring to keep him out of the market. (If I had that kind of power I guess I would have a lot more business than I do now). Among the defendants were Gumbel, who hosts “Real Sports,” as well as the segment narrator Armen Keteyian and several producers from HBO, Richard Simon, James Spence and PSA. In Tuesday’s 15-page decision, Daniels said that Frangipani failed to show that the authentication companies violated federal antitrust and racketeering laws by scheming to freeze him out of the market, or that customers refused to use his services because of the companies’ actions. This case lasted almost two years.
LOOK AT WHAT UPPER DECK DID TO THIS SIGNATURE
Just look at the Maris autograph on this card. I would never offer this type of autograph to my customers. Parts of letters missing all over the Maris autograph and you can have it for only $20,000 on ebay (or make an offer). This is something the card companies have done to create chase cards. Obliterating autographs seems to be a fun thing for them to do. This really should not happen. Even Beckett has criticized the card manufacturers for this practice with this statement: "Many auto cuts of late have been mis-cut, not fitting on the card, and simply, not of top quality presentation." This is a wonderful comment by Beckett on the sad state of these cards. I don't know of any serious autograph collectors who buy these obliterated cards.
A PENNSYLVANIA AUTOGRAPH FORGER GETS 33 MONTHS IN PRISON!
The Feds had arrested a Pennsylvania forger (getting into the real part of the country now where this crap is going on) who sold bogus signed books on ebay. Click this link to read the full story. They threw the book at him, forgery for profit is no longer looked at as a small crime.
Lawsuit Claims Heritage Auction Galleries Uses Fake Bidder to Manipulate Auctions
An interesting story about one of the largest auction houses in the country, a company that has very large sports auctions. Click the link to read about Heritage Auctions and alleged shill bidding. Apparently this lawsuit has been dismissed 3 times and ordered to arbitration.
Beware of single signed baseballs, now more than ever before
A few different sellers are now selling forged single signed "autograph" baseballs on ebay. The quality of most of these forgeries is poor. The sellers are selling them as "replica" baseballs, but the novice collector should be especially careful now when buying single signed baseballs. When buying single signed baseballs (or any autographs) KNOW YOUR SELLER, know that he is a hobby veteran, know that he will honor a lifetime guarantee and that he will stand behind his autographs.
History destroyed by Topps
The trend of card companies placing signatures on trading cards has hit a new low. Even the Beckett Company has made negative comments about what card companies have done on these cards.
In order to make these cards more "valuable", and I use that term valuable in a very derogatory fashion, they place a signature on a trading card and number it 1/1,2/15, 3/1000, etc.
Observe the card illustrated below and see what Topps has done. The signature of Andrew Jackson, a great American President, has been obliterated for the purpose of creating a trading card that is allegedly more "valuable" than his regular signature. Let's look at the facts here. Andrew Jackson always signed his name on one straight line. This signature was cut from a document and then cut in half in order to place it on this card. In addition, note how parts of some of the letters have been destroyed. All for the sake of creating "rare, manufactured memorabilia". In my opinion, this is a pitiful and pathetic practice, you should be ashamed of yourself Topps. This card has appeared on ebay at least twice, the seller has reduced his price, and it has not sold.
The TV shows 20/20 and Inside Edition had a similar episode about Rock n Roll autographs and photo shopped pictures showing fake guitar signings by rock stars.
The online story, which was not discussed on the air, includes denials by people connected to the rock stars about the authenticity of the autographs.
Click the icon to read this story on the ABC website.
American Memorabilia still not paying
It appears that complaints against American Memorabilia are piling up on various internet sites. They still, apparently, are late paying their consignors or in some instances have not paid at all. Various websites and blogs are reporting this. I don't have first hand knowledge of this, but I am seeing reports on websites and blogs. Apparently threats to report them to the BBB or take them to court don't even work anymore. The rating of American Memorabilia with the Better Business Bureau is now an F as of 12/7/09. That is the worst possible grade from the BBB. As of 1/20/10 the grade has been raised to a D+. That is still a pretty awful grade to have from the BBB. I have received several e mails from collectors who have read my info and still are waiting for payment from American Memorabilia for past auctions.
What to beware of on ebay
I am seeing many fake certificates of authenticity on ebay used by sellers of fake autographs. Check out what you see very carefully in ebay auctions. Make sure you get the number of the COA and check the legitimacy of it. Make sure the COA has a name, address and phone number of the person/company that is authenticating the item.
Mastronet still owes consignors from February,2009 auction.
Blogs and forums on the Internet are still running threads and posts from nervous and angry consignors who have not been paid for their consignments from the February auction by Mastronet. An auction house that was quick to criticize others is now under intense scrutiny and has created a very difficult situation for many who are still owed serious amounts of money. What goes around comes around.
FBI at The National Convention continuing investigation
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Service were among the guests as the National Sports Collectors Convention continued its run in Cleveland. The Bureau made headlines last year when agents showed up in Chicago, grilling dealers and authentication companies about fraud in the hobby and issuing subpoenas. It wasn't a secret they would be back in 2009. In between, "Sports Collectors Daily" has learned that agents have spent hours investigating a number of different transactions that have been reported to have involved fraud and asking companies to name names. They have also requested bidding records from some auction houses. Just because dealers are interviewed doesn't mean they're targets of the investigation, however. Agents have also chatted with owners of popular online forums and numerous collectors as they continue to seek information.
What is going on here with Mastro/Legendary auctions?
It is now apparent that the reshuffling of Mastro Auctions into another entity Legendary Auctions has created a very unhappy situation for many consignors to Mastro. Forums on the internet have been flooded with complaints from consignors who have not been paid for their consignments. Rumors abound about their business practices. Have they shipped auction lots to winning bidders without being paid? Are they financially capable of paying off consignors? I guess what goes around comes around.
BE CAREFUL!!
With the death of Michael Jackson, the hobby will be flooded with bogus Jackson autographs, especially on internet sites. BE CAREFUL who you buy from.
American Memorabilia update
The Las Vegas auction company American Memorabilia now has a grade of F from the Better Business Bureau of Southern Nevada. Consignors are posting messages on forums and message boards stating their complaints against this company.
National Academy of Sciences questions forensic science
From The New York Times, Feb 21,2009:
The National Academy of Sciences, the nation’s most prestigious scientific organization, has surveyed the field of forensic science and found it grossly deficient.
It’s not just that many forensic laboratories are poorly funded and staffed with “experts” who are poorly trained. The more fundamental problem, according to the study, is that there is LITTLE EVIDENCE OF THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY of most forensic methods — especially those that rely on expert interpretation.
The most thoroughly validated technique is nuclear DNA analysis, which has a minuscule likelihood of error when done right. But other well-known methods that can supposedly identify a guilty person or link a weapon or other evidence to a particular crime have NO RIGOROUS SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT THEY WORK CONSISTENTLY.
THAT GOES for analyses of hair, bite marks, fibers, DOCUMENTS, tools, firearms, shoe impressions, tire tracks, HANDWRITING and blood spatters, among others. The analyses can help focus an investigation but can seldom provide infallible evidence of guilt (emphasis added to the part of this story that applies to the autograph business).
The academy’s panel makes sensible suggestions for improvement, such as certification of forensic professionals, accreditation of laboratories, uniform standards for analyzing evidence and independence of the laboratories from police and prosecutors who might bias judgments. In the long run, research is needed to determine the accuracy of forensic methods. For now, judges, lawyers and juries are on notice that high-tech forensic perfection is a television fantasy, not a courtroom reality.
Beckett comments about Upper Deck cards
This is a comment from a Beckett ad on ebay about autograph cut cards from Upper Deck. Beckett is advertising a Gehrig cut card and includes these words in their ad.
"Many auto cuts of late have been mis-cut, not fitting on the card, and simply, not of top quality presentation. This one does not have those common problems. No part of the signature runs off the paper."(end of Beckett quote).
Why people actually spend 3-10 times the retail value of an autograph to buy these mis-cut autograph cards is beyond me. I look at ebay virtually every day and see these cards from the major card companies. Parts of the autograph are cut off, signatures on photographs are cut out of the photograph to place on a card and other horror stories are prevalent on ebay. This is shameful and ridiculous. Why pay thousands for a Roger Maris autograph when part of his signature is actually missing? Personally, I don't know of one person who collects these things.
Forger indicted by Feds in Pennsylvania
Reading, Pennsylvania, resident allegedly made $300,000 selling falsified authors' signatures on eBay
By Kevin Amerman Of The Morning Call
January 29, 2009
Since 2002, hundreds of people have relied on a Reading man for books written and signed by famous authors such as Tom Clancy, John Grisham and Anne Rice.
Using eBay, Forrest R. Smith III even sold books featuring the signatures of deceased authors such as Truman Capote.
But authorities say a closer look at Capote's ''A Tree of Night'' and Rice's ''Interview with the Vampire'' offered by Smith showed the signatures were no more real than the fictional characters within the covers.
The alleged scheme raked in $300,000 for the 47-year-old Smith. But it could cost him 80 years in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors threw the book at Smith last Thursday, charging him with three counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.
The indictment alleges that between 2002 and Dec. 15, 2008, Smith forged the signatures of famous authors in copies of their books and then sold the books at inflated prices on eBay to more than 400 unsuspecting purchasers.
Others whose signatures Smith allegedly forged included dead writers Michael Crichton, James Michener, Norman Mailer, Leon Uris and Kurt Vonnegut, and living authors John Irving, Annie Proulx, Philip Roth and Tom Wolfe.
''The system of buying and selling over the Internet depends on trust,'' Laurie Magid, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. ''This defendant abused that trust to enrich himself.''
Prosecutors say Smith created and used two eBay accounts: one registered in his name under ''bigdaddy_books,'' and one registered in his wife's name under ''bev103162smith.''
According to the indictment, Smith used the ''bigdaddy_books'' account to purchase unsigned books, then forged authors' signatures in them and re-sold them as ''signed'' from the ''bev103162smith'' account.
Smith allegedly obtained documents containing authentic signatures of each author and then had ink-based stamps made.
Global Authentication declares bankruptcy.
Global Authentication filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers last month, listing assets of $50,000-$100,000 and liabilities of $1million-$10 million. The long-time sports card grading and autograph authentication company, based in southern California, listed numerous individuals and businesses among its top twenty creditors including the Internal Revenue Service, several sports memorabilia dealers and other public and private entities. A number of GAI employees are also listed in the paperwork obtained by Sports Collectors Daily. Chapter 11 status allows a debtor to reorganize or liquidate pursuant to plans filed with the court.
At least know what you are doing.
I have recently noticed, on ebay, that many companies are selling facsimile autographs matted with a picture or on an actual picture, of old time Hall of Famers. The comic thing about this is that many if not most that I see are copies of forgeries. These people should at least learn what is good and what is bad, before foisting their $12 facsimiles on unknowing people.
The FBI is back in the hobby.(not specifically an autograph story, but newsworthy)
Feds crash National Sports Collectors Convention, hand out subpoenas
BY TERI THOMPSON AND MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS
Friday, August 1st 2008, 5:35 PM
Federal investigators crashed the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Ill., on Thursday and Friday, delivering subpoenas to several hobby executives to appear before a grand jury that is hearing evidence about fraud in their industry.
Agents from the FBI and United States Postal Service also questioned other dealers and authenticators at the National, the hobby's largest annual memorabilia show.
"This is part of an active federal investigation," said a source familiar with the probe. "I think they came to the National because they knew everybody would be here, all under one roof. It's like shooting ducks in a barrel."
As the Daily News first reported in July 2007, the Chicago division of the FBI, whose "Operation Foul Ball" smashed a multi-state autograph forgery ring during the 1990s, last year initiated an investigation into Illinois-based Mastro Auctions, sports memorabilia's largest auction house.
The visits from federal agents came as Mastro Auctions officials were preparing for the big live auction the company conducts in conjunction with the National.
"No more business as usual," said Chicago collector Michael Gidwitz, who was interviewed by the FBI several months ago. "An unregulated business like this, it brings in a lot of unscrupulous people. This needed to be done a long time ago."
Gidwitz, who became the first person to sell a baseball card for more than $1 million when he sold a T206 Honus Wagner once owned by NHL legend Wayne Gretzky to collector Brian Seigel in 2000 for $1.27 million, said he was victimized several times by one-time friend Bill Mastro, Mastro Auctions chairman. Those allegations first appeared in "The Card," a book about the T206 Wagner by two Daily News reporters that was published last year.
The Gretzky T206 Wagner, known in hobby as "the Holy Grail," was "discovered" by Bill Mastro in the 1980s. It was graded PSA-8 (on a scale off 1-10) by Professional Sports Authenticators, a card-grading service, even though one of the original authenticators acknowledged the company knew the card had been altered, a major violation of vintage card protocol. The book apparently hasn't affected the price: The Wagner was sold to an anonymous collector last year for $2.8 million through SCP Auctions, which owned a minority stake in the card. SCP, however, has never produced evidence that a transaction actually took place.
Mastro and auction house president Doug Allen did not return phone calls for comment. Nor did Randy Mastro, Mastro's brother and attorney who was a deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani. A Justice Department spokesman in Chicago said he could not confirm or deny an investigation had been initiated.
Hobby executives who have talked to the agents in the past year say the agents have asked about "shill bidding," when an aucton house or a consignor enters fake bids on an item in order to drive up the price.
Investigators have also expressed interest in a North Carolina warm-up shirt sold at the live auction Mastro's company held at the National last year. The shirt was advertised as a Michael Jordan-owned item, even though Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services, a leading authentication firm, concluded another player's name - Ranzino Smith - had been ripped from the back and repaced with "JORDAN."
The shirt sold for $11,000 and although Mastro Auctions eventually voided the sale, it renewed calls for greater regulation of the dog-eat-dog world of sports memorabilia and attracted attention from the FBI.
American Memorabilia slow to pay their consignors.
It appears that the internet auction company, American Memorabilia, has been very slow in paying consignors after auctions have ended. (I did work for them several years ago). Some collectors have had to wait as long as six months to be paid. Collectors have written to me about this problem and blogs have reported this story, with multiple collectors complaining about this practice. If you have been victimized by American Memorabilia's slow payments I suggest you contact the Better Business Bureau in Las Vegas. It appears that anyone who complains to the BBB will get their money rather quickly.
A very interesting newspaper story about autographs and authenticators, must reading for all collectors.
An excellent story by Michael O Keeffe on The New York Daily News website about autographs and authenticators. Just click the icon.
Memorabilia criminal arrested in Pennsylvania.
Roger Hooper of Mechanicsburg, PA was arrested a couple weeks ago for fraud involving sports memorabilia.
The pre-trial hearing is this Thursday, July 10th at 2pm in New Cumberland, PA, 400 Bridge Street.
Allegedly Hooper sold just about any type of bogus item you can think of via his auction house: autographs, resealed wax, coins, vintage militaria and more.
If you think this seller has robbed you contact the authorities. He operated under the name Roger Hooper Auctions.
Some things just amaze me.
For those of you who don't know that major star, Clay Kershaw, he has pitched a grand total of 9 2/3 innings in the major leagues in two games. He is a touted rookie pitcher who was a #1 draft choice.
He just signed an autograph deal with Steiner. Now the Steiner name is beyond reproach when it comes to authenticity and I commend them for that.
However, they are charging $99 for a Clay Kershaw autographed 8x10. Damn, what will happen when he has 50,75 or 100 innings pitched in the majors.
And considering how he looked last night against the Mets it might take him a while to achieve those innings numbers. Many, many Hall of Famers autographed photos are available in the market for $15-25. How can they charge $99 for a rookie with 9 2/3 innings experience?
Beware illegitimate auctions
I have noticed in at least two internet autograph auctions that bogus items are going for 1/10 of what legitimate items would sell for. PLEASE, don't buy items because you think you are getting a great bargain. No great bargains are available for Babe Ruth signed baseballs, Ty Cobb signed bats, Josh Gibson signed anything. Research these items before bidding. Auctions cannot keep coming up with Josh Gibson autographs every month, they cannot keep coming up with George Washington autographs every month. Why would someone consign to these auctions to get 1/10 of what these items should sell for? There are too many buyers in the market to allow "bargains" to occur.
Bogus Hollywood Collection Auctioned Off But Money Refunded
Though not an autograph story, I thought that I should post this article.
DALLAS — Heritage Auction Galleries is offering thousands of dollars in refunds after finding out that Hollywood memorabilia items sold in April were bogus.
"It's mortifyingly embarrassing," Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auction Galleries, said Wednesday.
The items were sold as the Ann Sothern Collection and included items like a whiskey flask purportedly owned by Errol Flynn, a Humphrey Bogart engraved cigarette case and Lash La Rue's bullwhip.
Eleven people paid more than $30,000 for 22 objects. The items were supposedly owned by the late Sothern, a 1940s movie star. The items were consigned to Heritage by LA Prop and Wardrobe, based in Meridian, Miss.
The auction house accepted LA Prop's claim that the collection was authentic without expert review, Rohan said. He said that was a breakdown in company protocol.
"We had sold a number of good things for them," he said. "They lulled us into thinking they were a legitimate company."
A phone number for LA Prop could not be found.
Heritage typically has its staffers or outside experts determine authenticity, Rohan said.
Rohan said that in the case of the Sothern items, the company's entertainment consignment director, Doug Norwine, allowed LA Prop's word to suffice.
"That was a blatant violation of our policies," Rohan said. "It was human error."
Norwine referred all questions to Rohan.
He said that the company is reviewing more than 200 other items it has sold for LA Prop in the last two years.
"I'm shocked we got duped, but every auction house gets duped," Rohan said. "It makes you better, more careful."
Rick Spector, a movie memorabilia dealer and auction house consultant, said he has tracked LA Prop buying hundreds of items on eBay before altering them for sale through Heritage.
"They should have established authenticity. They shouldn't have let the stuff through the door," Spector said. "That's their job. That's why they get the big (commission) bucks."
Dallas collector Charles Heard paid $4,203 for a fake Errol Flynn whiskey flask in the Sothern auction.
After a fellow collector alerted Heard to concerns about the Sothern auction being raised in an online forum, Heard said he contacted the actress's daughter in Idaho, who told him her mother never owned the flask and other items.
Heard took his concerns to Heritage on Nov. 30. Rohan said he learned about the problem last week.
"I think there is gross negligence on Heritage's part for letting these things come to the marketplace," Heard said.
--
Heritage is an auction house that sells many types of collectibles including sports memorabilia and sports autographs. Based on their own words they were duped into a very embarrassing and careless incident. Reading about things like this just makes me shake my head and shrug.
Government Documents Missing.
MISSING GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is engaged in recovering historical documents and manuscripts that are missing and which , in some instances, are presumed to have been stolen from the National Archives.
America is defined by its history in general and by its founding documents in particular. This article should alert autograph and manuscript dealers and collectors to the fact that certain documents are missing from the National Archives (NARA), and many of us would argue that it is every citizen’s obligation to assist in the recovery of such items if the opportunity presents itself.
The contact persons in the OIG’s office of NARA to whom reports of suspected missing or stolen government documents should be made are:
Kelly Maltagliati (Special Agent) OR
Mitchel Yockelson (Investigative Archivist)
Office of the OIG
Telephone (301) 837-3715 or (301) 837-3153
Fax (301)837-0879
Email: kelly.maltagliati@nara.gov
mitchell.yockelson@nara.gov
The OIG’s office also has a brochure with color illustrations that, at least in part, instruct one on how to identify stolen government documents. That brochure is available upon request.
There is at least a partial list of missing documents listed on the web site of The National Archives at the following link:
http://www.archives.gov/research/recover/
PSA rating changes again.
Their up to the minute rating (as of 1/22/08) is BB. Their rating changes more often than some people change their socks.
PSA rating goes down again.
PSA-DNA an authentication and grading company, which spends millions of dollars on advertising, now has a "D" rating from the Better Business Bureau of Southern California, as of 12/18/07. Their prior ratings included a B and an F. The D rating means “We have enough concerns about this company that we recommend caution in doing business with them”. Only an F rating is lower according to Better Business Bureau standards.
Fox TV Chicago does an investigation into JSA Authentication.
Fox TV in Chicago sent an undercover team to investigate JSA Authentication at a baseball card show in Chicago. Click this link to see the broadcast and see how JSA Authentications authenticated a bogus autograph. This is the second time a mistake by Mr. Spence or his company has been made in front of a TV camera.
Global Authentication in trouble? Part 2
According to printed sources Global has relocated and they are still in business.
Global Authentication in trouble?
According to printed sources:
According to officials in San Clemente, California the autograph and card authentication company Global Authentication never had a business license to operate and they have now been evicted from their headquarters, possibly due to a rent dispute. I will post further details as they become available to me.
Michael Jordan check??
Though this story is a year old, I was just made aware of it now. It concerns James Spence Authentications (JSA) and Grey Flannel Auctions. Very interesting reading.
The story concerns a check which was authenticated by JSA (did JSA actually have exemplars of a 9 year old Michael Jordan autograph?) for a Grey Flannel auction. It was a Coca Cola check allegedly made out to 9 year old Michael Jordan. If you read the post, you will find out how crazy this was. The buyer returned it to Grey Flannel for a refund after being referred to this story on another website. Click the icon to read the full story.
Mastro Auctions and PSA
Here is a link to a story in the New York Daily News about Mastro Auctions, PSA/DNA and a consignor who got a very unhappy result when he attempted to consign a Babe Ruth signed baseball. Click the icon and read this very interesting story.
Husband and Wife Sentenced in Worldwide eBay Fraud Scheme
Involving Over 5,000 Victims
(Newport News, VA) – Rachel Reyes, age 29, of Williamsburg, Virginia, was
sentenced today to 55 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay
$415,754.84 in restitution, in connection with her role in distributing fraudulent celebrity
memorabilia items on eBay. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District
of Virginia; and, Cassandra M. Chandler, Special Agent in Charge, Norfolk Division, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement after Reyes’ sentencing today before United
States District Judge Walter D. Kelley, Jr.
According to court documents, Rachel Reyes, her husband Jeffrey Reyes, and her mother,
Nancy Selisker, operated their own eBay accounts for the sale of the counterfeit memorabilia,
which included record albums and photographs of celebrities with forged signatures. To conduct
the fraud scheme, the three defendants purchased unsigned memorabilia from various locations
in Virginia, and then forged celebrity signatures on those items. The items subsequently posted
the items for auction on eBay's Internet website. The listings falsely described these items as
authentic and offered fraudulent certificates of authenticity.
From July 5, 2002 through March 11, 2005, using eBay account RICHIEGECKO,
Rachel Reyes personally completed 5,265 sales of memorabilia with forged signatures to 3,359
victims, with losses totaling approximately $314,773.97. From July 21, 2003 through March 11,
2005, using eBay account MMASGRL, Selisker personally completed 1,620 sales of
memorabilia with forged signatures to 1,104 victims, with losses totaling approximately
$118,114.07. From August 10, 2002 through March 11, 2005, using eBay account WOLFIE88,
Jeffrey Reyes completed 1,317 sales of memorabilia with forged signatures to 1,124 victims,
totaling approximately $130,520.72. Victims were located throughout all 50 states of the
United States as well as 33 other countries.
On March 26, 2007, Jeffrey Reyes, age 30, of Williamsburg, Virginia, was sentenced to
33 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay
$98, 948.94 in restitution for his role in the scheme. Selisker is scheduled to be sentenced on
April 30, 2007.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. eBay also
provided assistance during the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Gill and
Brian Samuels prosecuted the case for the United States.
FBI Investigating an Auction House ?
There is a column in the New York Daily News of July 8 written by Michael O'Keeffe. The subject of the story is that the FBI is conducting an investigation of Mastro Auctions and shill bidding. Veteran hobby dealer Bill Daniels has been one of those who was questioned by the FBI. He supplied relevant information to the FBI about one particular lot that he had intimate knowledge of.
An intern at the National Archives made off with over 150 documents from the Civil War. Denning McTague, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to stealing the government documents in April,2007. He had already sold 70 of the items on ebay. McTague is the owner of Denning House a book and autograph dealer. McTague made $30,000 selling the stolen items on eBay.
PSA is flunked by the Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau of Southern California has now given PSA an F rating. That is the lowest possible rating that a company can get from the BBB. There rating has gone from F to B and currently is now (as of 12/13/07) D. Here is a quote from their website about what an F rating means: "We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices."
Here is a summary on the BBB website about the reasons for giving PSA an F rating:
Some complainants allege the company fails to return items sent in for authentication, and in some cases deny ever receiving the item. Other customers complain that the company fails to provide services as agreed, returning itenms without explanation as to why they are determined not to be authentic. Some complainants allege items sent are lost, misplaced, or that the company replaces the high quality items sent in, with lesser valued items before returning to the customer. A few customers complain the company misrepresented the value of cards they purchased, and found after spending considerable amounts of money, a second opinion determined the item as worthless. Most customers report they experience difficulty contacting the company to resolve problems, claiming calls are not returned, and voice-mail or e-mail messages are not answered.
The company responds to some complaints by offering explanations, or by directing complainants to review their policies which are posted on the website. In cases where items are missing or lost, the company asks for proof of delivery, registered tracking numbers, copies of submission forms, check numbers used, dates checks were posted, and any other documentation that might be associated to the transaction, advising the complainant the information will be taken under review, and resolution will depend on the information provided. The company addresses some complaints regarding purchased items by advising the complainant they do not engage in the sale of sports memorabilia, and they must have confused them with another company. The company disputes most allegations, and refunds or credits are usually not issued.
How does this auction company get all these rare autographs?
An auction company which does a large volume regularly has auctioned off six Mathewson's, seven Chesbro's, three or four Delahanty's and too many Ruth's and Gehrig autographs to count in the past few months. Their items sell for 10% of what similar items sell for in other large auctions. I wonder how they keep turning up SO MUCH RARE MATERIAL! And you would think that their consignors would wonder why they were getting so little money for these items when compared to others.
Beware of this baseball.
The following baseball is being offered in the market. In my opinion the signatures are questionable.
Beware of this collection
There is a very large collection (10 page inventory list) of bogus autographs being offered for sale now. All the items I viewed from this collection are bogus and many were forged by the Marino family of Operation Bullpen fame. Be careful. Ruth, Dizzy Dean, Mickey Mantle and many, many more.
Autograph submissions fall at PSA
Collectors Universe, parent company of PSA/DNA has reported a significant decrease in autographed items submitted for authentication for the quarter ending September 30, 2006. The number of items submitted during this quarter decreased by 38 percent. That is a very large drop in the number of submissions. What does this say about PSA/DNA? Some of the best autograph dealers I know, JS, KK, RA, RG and BC do not use PSA. Their experience and knowledge are the prime factors in their success. They don't need to have their autographs put into a slab and graded by a 3rd party.
Another Upper Deck flubbed autograph
Here is another classic Upper Deck card with an autograph that bears no resemblance to reality. This one is actually laughable. To make matters worse, an apparently innocent seller on ebay sold it to an apparently innocent buyer for $1500. The card only had one bid, maybe collectors were avoiding this mess knowingly. I showed this scan to four other dealers and major collectors. All agree it is bogus. For more examples of horrendous Upper Deck autographed cards, scroll down this page.
Bogus Ali autographs and boxer Chuck Wepner
The FBI has busted another forgery operation which included the boxer Chuck Wepner in addition to several other individuals. The individuals included Brian Ginsberg, Michael DeSola and John Olson. These people forged a large number of Muhammad Ali photographs and flooded the market with them. A shame when former athletes become part of forgery operations, isn't it? These men were involved in an elaborate scheme which resulted in many forged Ali items. Wepner used his reputation as a boxer to further the scheme. Probation, banning from the memorabilia business and fines were handed out in this case.
Here is another Upper Deck signature card that is questionable.
Another questionable Upper Deck card has been found on ebay with an autograph of Mordecai Brown. I have shown it to four dealers who think its not authentic.
Another example of PSA's authentication work.
This item was being sold on ebay as of 5/23/06, Item #6589943097. It is a letter signed by German Fuhrer Karl Donitz. (Donitz replaced Hitler). He was the Fuhrer who surrendered to the allies for Germany and ended the European theatre of WWII. This letter is clearly identified in the PSA COA as being signed by Admiral Nimitz (US Navy Admiral during WWII, he served in the Pacific). The PSA COA is signed for PSA by James Spence and Steve Grad. It is dated April 24,2003. The item being sold (obviously a copy of the original historical document, collectors will create these types of items) was signed and dated by Donitz in 1976. Admiral Nimitz died in 1966. They totally misidentified the signature and ID'd it as a man who had been dead for 10 years. The question is did James Spence or Steve Grad do even the least bit of research on this signature and document before signing the COA? Apparently not. Authenticators can disagree on the validity of an autograph. This particular item is not a disagreement on the validity of an autograph. This is a sample of the work PSA has done.
The local Better Business Bureau has given the company a D RATING. That is the second lowest rating possible from the BBB. PSA has authenticated facsimiles as authentic, they have authenticated rubber stamps as authentic, they authenticated autopens as authentic and they have misidentified autographs by not even naming the signature correctly. All of this PSA work is documented below.
More press about the Upper Deck controversy.
Sweet Spot Magazine's cover story in the April/May issue is about the Upper Deck card controversy and contains a lot of interesting quotes from hobby dealers and insiders. The article summarizes what Upper Deck has done and the front cover contains pictures of three Upper Deck cards, with bogus autographs, that are illustrated on my website. It is about time for Upper Deck to tell the collecting public where those autographs came from. The cover of Sweet Spot refers to "stunning mistakes by the card manufacturer and authenticators." The article also discusses in depth the HBO show on Real Sports about autograph authenticators, where only two authenticators were commended by the show (myself included), out of seven that were tested.
Signature removal from baseballs.
There is now a service that is advertising that they can remove autographs on multi signed baseballs, and turn them into more valuable single signed baseballs. Dealers and collectors I know are wondering about this development and what effect it will have on collecting single signed baseballs. The main concern is that at some point in the future, there might not be full disclosure that the ball had been altered. There is no way to guarantee that this will not happen. I have communicated with the owner of the company, and seen his work at the National Convention, and in my opinion he is totally honest and the work he does actually does create very good looking single signed baseballs (as long as you don't submit a ball with sharpie signatures). When he sells a baseball he includes full disclosure of his work.
Three auction houses have sold these baseballs, Mastronet, Robert Edward and Heritage Gallery, with the proper disclaimer in their catalogs. I worry about what happens after the auction house sells the baseballs. Will the next seller issue a proper disclaimer?
Lelands Auction House will not accept these baseballs and I have received an e mail from the President of Lelands regarding this.
"Rich,
I am against the process.... I believe that it opens the door for people to be misled even if there is full public disclosure the first time an item is sold.
Heff" (Mike Heffner, Pres of Lelands)
However Bill Mastro has a different opinion and he has supported this company's work as long as full disclosure is present. Here is his quote:
"It is obvious to me that your service is not intended to cheat or con anyone. It is meant to enhance the desirability and collectibilty, not necessarily the value, of an autographed baseball."
If you desire to have this work done to enhance the collectibility of your baseballs, then by all means go ahead and do it.
I met the owner of this company at the National and saw many of the baseballs he has worked on. The work they do is good. If you don't mind owning a baseball where signatures have been removed, then go ahead and use them. However, I still want to alert all collectors to be wary of any single signed baseballs. Hold the ball under a UV light (in a dark room) and any alterations will stand out immediately. The owner of the company does not deny this will happen. He fully discloses it upon a sale. Just be wary when purchasing single signed baseballs from other individuals.
Here is the way a ball with alterations looks under UV light.
My examinations of baseballs will always include an examination by UV light. I will detect any alterations in signed baseballs. If you own single signed baseballs now, I urge you to check them out carefully or have them checked by someone who can detect alterations. This service does fine work on baseballs signed with ball point pen or fountain pen. Just be aware of what you are buying when you purchase single signed baseballs.
Another fake UACC COA.
Here is another fake UACC COA being used on ebay. I spotted it being used by a UK seller. If you see an item being offered for sale with this COA, please report it to me or the UACC and DO NOT BUY THE ITEM.
Barron's writes about PSA.
Barron's Online has just published a story about Collectors Universe (parent company of PSA-DNA). Much of the story, entitled "Kinda Sorta Genuine", is about PSA-DNA and a number of items that they examined. Click this link to read the story.
Upper Deck Signature Card Controversy.
Autograph Collector Magazine had written a full page story about Upper Deck and autographs. I have a large PDF file of this story. You can e mail me for a copy.
As of December,2006 there is still no resolution between Upper Deck and the buyer of the famous Quad card, Kevin Demitros. Mr. Demitros has paid $85,000 for this card, with two bogus autographs on it. (see below for more information about this story).
The Associated Press has now circulated a story about the Upper Deck Quad Card controversy. It does not cover the story in depth like the New York Daily News story, but it seems the story is spreading and collectors are becoming very aware of this problem. I have seen the story appear in at least a few online editions of newspapers.
The New York Daily News has a story in the Feb 19 edition about the Upper Deck controversy. Here is the link to the Feb. 19 story, entitled "A Sign of The Times":
I have recently been made aware of the following Upper Deck cards:
This card features a picture of Ray Dandridge and incorrectly includes his wife's autograph.
This card features a picture of Eddie Collins yet it contains an autograph of Edd Roush, which has the "h" cut off to fit on the card.
This card features a picture of Charlie Keller and a ghost signed signature (signed by a family member) of Earle Combs.
This card features a picture of Joe Cronin and a real signature of Earle Combs.
A fax newsletter on 2/13 from Sports Collectors Digest (SCD) contains a statement from the Upper Deck Company regarding the Quad Card controversy. The company president Bob Andrews stated "We are disapointed that HBO chose to run a TV segment where a convicted felon was allowed to cast doubt on this card". Mr. Andrews seems to ignore myself, Global Authentication, PSA Quick Opinion, one unnamed but well known authenticator, autograph dealer Seth Boyd and the grandson of Walter Johnson who have all had problems with one or two of the autographs on this card. Seems like it's a case of shoot the messenger and ignore the message. A typical diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the real problem.
The company issued a statement that avoids any specifics and stated that "We utilize well known and respected vendors, each with many years of experience, to provide autographs for our cut-signature products. Each vendor must provide us with a COA". Well I would be curious to know which vendors provided the following signatures, which have been looked at (digital images only) by NUMEROUS autograph dealers, none of whom believes in the authenticity of these autographs.
Some of these cards have sold for substantial sums of money. Without a doubt, the majority of cards I have seen from Upper Deck have contained authentic autographs. The following are three examples of authentic UD autograph cards.
However the number of cards that contain questionable autographs is alarming. It also alarms me to see cards picturing one player with the autograph of another. Who is running their autograph operation?
Upper Deck indicates in their statement that a "premier authenticator" will be retained for future autographs. So if they are going to retain an authenticator in the future, why did they not retain one in the past? The actions of Mr. Jaffe and the story on Real Sports have brought about a change in Upper Deck. Interesting that they call him a felon, yet have now changed their system as a result of his actions.
Were the autographs on the cards in question ever authenticated by a third party after purchase by Upper Deck? Who sold Upper Deck the autographs that are in question now? How many more (if any) of these cards with questionable autographs are out there? Thousands of Upper Deck cards have been sold with vintage autographs attached.
I have been told that SCD will shortly be running a story about the Upper Deck Signature cards. To read more about the Upper Deck controversy click this link to The Brill Report. Scroll to the bottom of that page to see the autographs that were submitted for authentication, by a well known authenticator, who did not want to be named. (scans of these autographs were submitted, not the actual card):
HBO airs a show about sports autograph collecting including segments about authenticators, COA's and Upper Deck. See how the forensic authenticators and other authenticators did in a blind test.
Real Sports, an HBO series, did the autograph hobby a service in a show which was first aired on Tuesday Jan 17. It has been aired again, and is scheduled to be aired several more times on an HBO channel over the next few days. The show did an investigative report on authenticators, COA's and Legendary Cuts Upper Deck signature cards.
At the insistent urging of Shelly Jaffe, several months ago Real Sports began an investigation into the autograph business. (Shelly Jaffe is the person referred to as "Eddy" in the show.) Shelly Jaffe had felt that collectors and autograph buyers were still getting ripped off for huge dollar amounts, especially on the Internet, and it was time for him to try to do something about it. Mr Jaffe was not paid by HBO and did not profit at all from the work he did. He wound up doing some very good work.
Real Sports then started to conduct an investigation into the autograph market and its current state. The show initially conducted an interview with an enthusiastic collector who made most of his purchases on the internet and on ebay. This collector enjoyed involving his children in the hobby with him and had a number of signed framed items in his home. He seemingly did not have the awareness of some of the pitfalls in the autograph market.
Real Sports then interviewed FBI agent Tim Fitzsimmons who has been the point man for the Federal Government and investigations into the autograph hobby. Tim headed the famous Operation Bullpen, which resulted in numerous arrests and convictions and the disbanding of the largest forgery ring in the country. Tim was interviewed in the FBI warehouse, where many of the forgeries that were confiscated are still kept. He showed the Real Sports reporter a large group of Babe Ruth cut signatures, all of which were forgeries, and he showed the reporter a large box of COA's which came from forensic authenticator Donald Frangipani. FBI undercover tapes revealed members of the forgery ring discussing sending their items to Donald Frangipani to receive COA's for them.
Real Sports then interviewed Dan Marino and had him look at some of his own "autographs" on ebay. He looked at a few items and deemed them to be bogus.
Authenticators and COA's on HBO.
The show then began to investigate authenticators and COA's. In order for the show to give collectors an idea of what can happen with COA's, the FBI allowed Real Sports to use known forged items for their investigative report.
In the next segment of the show, an associate of the show with a hidden camera, visited Donald Frangipani's office with seven items that were given to the show by the FBI and which came from the warehouse where the forgeries are kept. Mr. Frangipani, who is a "certified forensic examiner," declared that the seven signatures on these seven forged items were genuine. He then went further and warned about the dubious nature of the autograph market.
Real Sports then appeared at Mr. Frangipani's office the next day to tell him that all the seven items he had issued COA's for were bogus according to the FBI. Mr. Frangipani scored 0-7 in this undercover test by Real Sports. The Real Sports reporter questioned Mr. Frangipani quite intensely and Mr. Frangipani stated that he had made honest mistakes and was only giving his opinion. He was pressed by the reporter on why he never questioned getting so many autographs allegedly from the old great HOFers. He said he asked himself that question, but did not ask the people sending him the autographs.
Real Sports then sent out 30 bogus items to six authenticators. These items also came from the FBI warehouse where the forgeries were kept. I was one of the six authenticators who was tested. According to Real Sports, Global and I did very well in this test, while "four of the six authenticators failed miserably." (this is a quote from the reporter on the show, Armen Katayan). As to the four who "failed miserably," the COA's of Frank Garo, Stat Inc, Christopher Morales (a forensic examiner) and AAU (a forensic examination company) were shown on the screen as the reporter Armen Katayan continued his report.
Though there are published statements and information on the internet stating that Mr Morales and Mr Frangipani are partners, an attorney for Mr. Morales has informed me that they are not partners, past or present. There is no longer any information on the internet about Mr. Morales and Mr. Frangipani being partners in any venture. On Mr. Morales website he states that any such information on any website was done without his permission.
Real Sports then went back to "Eddy" who gave further details of the operations of the forgery ring. He stated that it was "forensic experts" who helped the ring to succeed. He would send autograph items, from the forgery ring, to Mr Frangipani and they all came back to him as authentic with COA's.
Real Sports quoted Tim Fitzsimmons that Donald Frangipani was the "authenticator of choice" for the ring. But the show also made it clear that Mr. Frangipani had never been charged by the federal government.
Real Sports asked ebay to comment but they declined. However, they did point out that they are teamed with PSA-DNA authentication services, and make that service available for a nominal fee to buyers on ebay.
Real Sports continued their investigative report into the autograph hobby by focusing on an Upper Deck 2005 SP Legendary Cuts Autograph Quad Cuts card. This card had four cut signatures on it. The signatures on this card were purportedly of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson and Ty Cobb.
Mr. Jaffe became aware of this card during the course of the filming of the HBO show.
For those of you not familiar with these cards, they are insert cards with the signature of a well known athlete affixed to the card. They have been selling for considerably more than the autograph itself would have ordinarily sold for.
This particular card was auctioned by Beckett on Ebay after receiving a lot of publicity. The card sold for $85,000. The four cut autographs if legitimate would have sold for less than $10,000.
"Eddy" stated that the Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson signatures were products of the forger Greg Marino, who was the leader of the forgery ring. Mr Jaffe was told by HBO that they wanted to get the top authenticators to examine these autographs.
The signatures were sent, by scan, to me, Global Authentication and PSA-DNA Quick Opinion service. We did not know that the signatures were from an Upper Deck card. Global and I said the signatures did not appear authentic to us. PSA stated that the signatures were "likely not genuine". In addition, Seth Boyd an autograph dealer whom I totally trust, was sent scans of these two autographs. He also did not think they were authentic. One other prominent authenticator who did not want his name used also turned down the Walter Johnson. He did not view the Babe Ruth.
Upper Deck, referred to as the "gold standard" in the industry, made a statement that they stand by their product. Forums and blogs on the internet are now questioning the authenticity of other Upper Deck Signature Legendary Cut cards.
I would think that we will be hearing more about this card.
Here is what the card looks like:
Click here for a page illustrating bogus autographs.
A dealer unknown to me at this moment, is issuing fake COA's to make it appear that the COA is coming from the UACC. Do not believe these COA's for a second.
Here is a scan of the fake COA. The collector who submitted this COA to me will not reveal the name of the dealer, despite repeated attempts on my part to get this information.
A lawsuit against PSA.
Final Judgment Entered in Miller Case; Collectors Liability Is $14,060 Thursday December 1, 5:43 pm ET Plaintiff Is Expected to Appeal NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT - News), a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles and diamonds, today announced that the Orange County, California trial judge presiding over the action brought against the Company by a former employee, William Miller, has issued a final judgment that the statutory damages owed to plaintiff under California Civil Code Section 3344 are $0.00. That judgment was entered pursuant to an agreement reached this morning by the parties. We have been informed by our trial counsel that, in California, it generally takes at least one year, and sometimes as long as two years, from the filing of an appeal of a damage award, before the appeal is actually heard by an appellate court. The judgment also provides for the Company to pay Miller the sum of $14,060, which the jury found were the profits earned by the Company for the use of Miller's name, and for Miller to pay the Company the sum of $37,812, representing the aggregate principal amount of certain loans that the Company had made to Miller while he was employed by the Company, but which he had failed to repay.
Bill Miller, former publisher of Autograph Collector magazine (which was owned by Collectors Universe) is suing Collectors Universe (parent company of PSA-DNA). Bill has told me that THOUSANDS of COA's with his facsimile signature were issued by PSA-DNA. The number of items he examined was ZERO. Why has PSA implied that autograph authorities are examining the autograph submissions that they receive? Mr. Miller's attorney has deposed the head of Collectors Universe and will be deposing Joe Orlando, the president of PSA-DNA. Why would PSA put facsimile signatures on their COA's of people who never looked at the item? What impression are they trying to creat? Now the question is, did Jimmy Spence, Steve Grad,Zack Rullo, Bob Eaton, John Reznikoff, etc. look at an item that has their real or facsimile signature on the COA? Did they examine the item physically? I don't know.
Here is the corrected press release from the law firm that represented Bill Miller: SANTA ANA, Calif., Nov 09, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- JURY VERDICT COULD RESULT IN $10.5 MILLION AWARD TO FORMER COLLECTORS UNIVERSE EXECUTIVE; BOUDREAU, ALBERT & WOHLFEIL REPRESENTS PLAINTIFF Boudreau, Albert & Wohlfeil LLP announced today that an Orange County jury awarded a former executive of Collectors Universe, William Miller, with awards that could total in excess of $10.5 million against Collectors Universe [ CLCT] . The jury found that Collectors Universe used Miller's name on 14,060 Certificates of Authenticity without his permission. "We are grateful that the jury saw fit to hold Collectors Universe accountable for its actions," said Andrew Albert, lead attorney on the case and partner at the law offices of Boudreau, Albert & Wohlfeil LLP. "Their verdict is an important step in allowing Bill to reclaim his good name and to protect the public from false authentication services." In his suit, filed August 2004, Miller alleged that Collectors Universe placed his name and signature on Certificates of Authenticity which indicated that he had examined items being authenticated, when, in fact, he had never performed a single authentication for the company's PSA/DNA Division, under which the certificates wer! e issued. Miller's suit alleged violation of his right to privacy by misappropriating his name. Under California Civil Code section 3344 compensatory damages of $750 per unauthorized use are presumed. In addition, court costs and attorney's fees are recoverable. The jury found that Miller had been harmed by Collectors' unauthorized use of his name. The court has previously ruled in the first phase of the trial that for each unauthorized use of his name, Miller may recover $750. The jury also awarded Miller Collector's profits made through the use of his name. Attorney's fees may also be added to the judgment. Miller said he feels vindicated by the clear-cut jury verdict. "It's horrible enough to have your name taken from you purely for someone else's financial gain, but it's another thing to be used as a pawn to deceive or even defraud the public. ! For the rest of my life, I will live with the uncomfortable feeling that at any time I might be held responsible for someone who authenticated an autograph I never looked at. When an item turns out to be not genuine, as we have already found to be the case in a number of instances, it's my name which will bear the responsibility and my reputation, carefully built over 15 years, which will be damaged." SOURCE: Boudreau, Albert & Wohlfeil LLP
A QUESTION FOR PSA: Facsimile signatures of their authenticators are printed at the bottom of the COA's. Who is authenticating these autographs? Collectors don't you want to know who examined your autograph? Is it a former hotel autograph chaser examining your autographs? They have such people on staff. Is it someone who authenticates autographs with barely a look? Is it someone who examines autographs under glass, without removing the glass first, to see if the signature is pre printed? Their most experienced authenticator is no longer with the company.
Bill Miller's name is on thousands of COA's. He never examined one item. A question for Spence, Rullo, Grad, Epperson, Reznikoff, Eaton, etc. whose names appear or have appeared on PSA COA's. Are you examining the items that have your name on the PSA COA? Mr. Miller did not examine any items. Just because a facsimile signature appears on a COA, that does not mean it has been examined by that authenticator.
More news about the Bill Miller lawsuit against Collectors Universe:
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Collectors
Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), a leading provider of value-added
authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value
collectibles, today announced that the Orange County, California trial judge
presiding over the previously reported lawsuit brought against the Company by
William Miller, informed the parties on November 18, 2005, that he intends to
render his final ruling on the issue of damages on December 1, 2005. The
trial judge on November 18, 2005, also issued a "tentative ruling" to indicate
his current intention as to how he will rule on December 1, 2005. That
tentative ruling is set forth below.
A tentative ruling is not binding and, although it does not often occur,
the judge could issue a final ruling that differs from his tentative ruling.
Despite the tentative ruling, which indicates that the judge is not
willing to render a judgment of $10 million against the Company, because he
believes that such an award would be excessive, and the Company's continued
belief that it will not incur any material liability in this case, that
tentative ruling also indicates that there continue to be a number of
relatively novel legal issues involved in this case. As a result, it is not
possible to predict, with certainty, what the ultimate outcome of this case
will be.
More news about PSA.
Mike Gutierrez, according to the PSA website, has joined PSA as an "autograph consultant." I am wondering what exactly that term means. What does an autograph consultant do, as opposed to an autograph authenticator? Will he be a facsimile signature on the bottom of the PSA COA, or will he be taking an active part in authenticating? "Autograph consultant",,, what do you think? PSA President, Joe Orlando, described Gutierrez as "one of the top autograph authenticators in the sports memorabilia business." Is he an authenticator or a consultant? If he is a "consultant" what will he be doing? Apparently he is one of those facsimile signatures on the PSA COA. Is he actually examining autographs? If anyone can supply the answer, please let me know. Or is this another example of a signature on a COA when the item was not examined?
Phillip and David Scheinman pled guilty in Federal court on August 12 for selling forged sports memorabilia. They owned and operated a store in Las Vegas called Smokey's Sportscards. They were prominently featured on TV when the FBI raided numerous establishements in Operation Bullpen. The raid on their store made TV news all over the country. The father made a fool of himself on national television. They also sold on ebay. The father-son combination will be serving at least one year in Federal prison.
Check this URL for an interesting story about Muhammad Ali forgeries. Ali sued three memorabilia dealers: Grey Flannel of New York, B&E Collectibles of New York and Broadway Rick's of Florida for selling forgeries of his signature on lithographs. He settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum and all the material that was forged was destroyed.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=21&art_id=qw1123226461735S163
Let me let Jim Caravello tell this story: "I recently won the Ernie Banks Game Used bat in the American Memorabilia Auction from the 50's. The bat I purchased is unsigned - the way I like my gamers. Its an incredible piece of wood and I couldn't have been happier in winning the auction. It had a COA from Taube and Malta, game used examiners.
Then I received a letter from American Memorabilia with another COA on the bat - this one from PSA / DNA authenticating the autograph on my Ernie Banks bat!! What autograph! I pulled the bat down from my rack again - there is no auto - I checked the Auction Catalog again and it didn't mention that it was autographed. The bat has no auto, yet I have a full COA from PSA / DNA on the autograph on the bat!!! What a Joke!! I guess if I sign the bat, the auto is real?!?" No comment is necessary from me.
Here is the link to the bat in the American Memorabilia catalog:
http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?
auction_id=16475&aucsearch=banks%
20bat&aucperiod=&auclisttype=&auccat=&tfm_orderby=&tfm_order=
Now it seem PSA-DNA is authenticating invisible autographs. Another cursory examination I guess. (I had to comment :) ).
Here is the COA for the autograph:
There was an auction on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=73396&item=5214330088&rd=1.
The auction is for a "signed" Mark McGwire card, authenticated and graded by PSA. The "signature" on the card is rubber stamped. Thanks to Randall Hahn for this information. Randy is the foremost Mark McGwire expert in the country and he has this rubber stamp exemplar. Looks like another "cursory review."
On June 7th an ebay auction was started for a baseball purportedly signed by Joe DiMaggio (auction #5206467320). The baseball had an "In The Presence" COA from PSA, supposedly meaning a PSA representative witnessed the signing.
A potential buyer submitted the auction ad to PSA for a "Quick Opinion," which came back "unable to render opinion." This despite the fact that the ball was supposedly "witnessed" by a PSA representative. (The COA was pictured in the auction ad, as was the PSA sticker on the baseball. They had matching ID numbers, 1A 37058).
The buyer stated that he was puzzled: PSA cannot authenticate a signature that they witnessed? How can that be possible? What is the implication of this?
The buyer says he confronted the seller, who appeared to be as puzzled as the potential buyer. The buyer claims he has e mails showing that the seller contacted PSA. The e mails stated that (a) there are some “problems” with some of the DiMaggio balls, and (b) PSA would purchase the ball. If they "withnessed" this signing, why offer to purchase the ball?
The seller ended the auction early and promptly removed all pictures from his ad.
Did Joe DiMaggio sign this baseball or any balls in the presence of PSA? That is the main question. Would PSA have stated that they witnessed this signature if they did not witness the signature? I know the answer to that question.
Are there other such “problems"? Have they "witnessed" other signatures that they now have "problems" with. What does this mean about the PSA In Person authentications?
Both of these auctions have been pulled by ebay and are no longer viewable.
An autograph seller named Randy Smyly, from the great state of Arkansas, has copied parts of my web page, which have been critical of PSA, and circulated it in an e mail to various individuals, in an attempt to discredit PSA. But Mr. Smyly has been using PSA COA's in his ebay ads. This is the height of hypocritical behavior, don't you think? Mr. Smyly usually endorses forensic authenticators over hobby authenticators. I AM NOT ASSOCIATED WITH RANDY SMYLY and I never have been in the past and never will in the future.
A statement had been posted on the PSA website: "Some of you may or may not have encountered a PSA/DNA Auction Letter in the marketplace...Please keep in mind these Auction Letters are NOT representative of full PSA/DNA authentication...Prior to the sale, the items are presented for a cursory review only. The items are NOT tagged with our synthetic DNA, are not issued with PSA/DNA serial numbers, and the items are NOT photographed (as they are on our full PSA/DNA authentication letters)...The full letter can be provided for ,, fee." The dictionary definition of cursory is "HASTY and without attention to detail, NOT THOROUGH." They admitted that they conduct hasty exams that were not thorough, and now want collectors to PAY MORE MONEY to make up for the cursory work they did.
For YEARS auction houses have been stating "authenticated by PSA-DNA." Auction houses that use PSA include Mastro Net, Hunt, Grey Flannel, Clean Sweep, American Memorabilia, Guernsey's and more. And now we find out that these autograph exams were cursory exams only. They had admitted to this on their website. Millions of dollars of autographs have been sold with cursory exams. And now PSA wants more money from the collector, after the auction houses have already paid them thousands of dollars for these cursory exams.
PSA changed the wording on their website to read "authentication review" instead of cursory review. What does that mean? "Collectors give us more money" it seems to mean to me. Authentication review? What does that mean? Auction houses - are your items thoroughly examined by PSA?
PSA has changed the website yet AGAIN. It now reads "the (auction) items ,,, have been examined and deemed authentic by PSA/DNA."
Make up your mind PSA. Cursory review? Authentication review? Examined and deemed authentic? (How and by who?). If they were indeed examined why did PSA initially state the items only had cursory reviews.
A QUESTION FOR PSA: Facsimile signatures of their authenticators are printed at the bottom of the COA's. Who is authenticating these autographs? Collectors don't you want to know who examined your autograph? Is it a former hotel autograph chaser examining your autographs? They have such people on staff. Is it someone who authenticates autographs with barely a look? Is it someone who examines autographs under glass, without removing the glass first, to see if the signature is printed? Their most experienced authenticator is no longer with the company.
Bill Miller's name is on thousands of COA's. He never examined an item. A question for Spence, Rullo, Grad, Epperson, Reznikoff, Eaton, etc. whose names appear or have appeared on PSA COA's. Are you examining the items that have your name on the PSA COA? Mr. Miller did not examine any items.
From Collectors Universe financial statement: (parent corp. of PSA) Units authenticated by PSA/DNA decreased by 40% to 15,000 units, in the third quarter of fiscal 2005 from 25,000 in the same period in 2004.
The second lawsuit against PSA has recently been filed by Bill Daniels, a dealer in Indiana. The lawsuit is filed against Mastronet and PSA-DNA. Click this link to read the lawsuit.
I just received some new information about PSA from autograph dealer Kevin Keating. He was the winning bidder of what appeared to be a Charles Ebbets (Owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field) 1915 signed letter on Dodger stationery from a local auctioneer. The letter came with a COA from PSA. When Kevin received the letter it turned out to be a letter signed by Charles Ebbets Jr., who was the secretary of the Dodgers, and listed on the letterhead, and not THE Charles Ebbets, who was President of the Dodgers, and also listed on the letterhead. The autograph of Charles Ebbets Jr. was authenticated by PSA as the autograph of Charles Ebbets. Their signatures bear no resemblance to each other. Was this letter examined at all?
Authenticators disagree about authenticity. Authenticators make honest mistakes. However, authenticating a Charles Ebbets Jr. signature as his father's signature, authenticating George Bush autopen signatures as genuine, authenticating Bruce Springsteen facsimile signatures as genuine, these are not disagreements over signatures. (read the next few paragraphs for the details). These errors were all done for auction houses. These mistakes are coming from the authentication service that likes to boast in their advertising that the item is not real unless PSA says it's real. Really? These errors were made because the items were examined in a HASTY manner and without attention to detail.
Here is another example of their work:
In the American Memorabilia auction ended 10/21/04 Lot #1 was a Bruce Springsteen "Born In The USA" RIAA Platinum Album Award, allegedly signed by Bruce Springsteen and authenticated by PSA-DNA. However if you look at the following link - The following information is from Kevin Keating. A December auction by Grey Flannel contained: Lot #7 "President George Bush Correspondence to Coach Dale Brown" which contained three letters "signed" by George Bush. Two were signed as President. The three were authenticated as genuine by PSA. Kevin purchased this lot. Upon receiving the letters, it was obvious that the two that were signed as President were signed with a mechanical device called an autopen and were not signed by George Bush. Kevin sent copies to me, and it is OBVIOUS that these letters were signed by an autopen as you can lay one signature over another and see the overlap. PSA had two George Bush autopenned letters and did not even attempt to determine if they were signed by an autopen. If they had made even the most minor effort, the fact that an autopen was used, would have been revealed to them. PSA did not make this very minor effort to determine authenticity. How could they deem these letters as real? PSA is now authenticating autopen presidential signatures as genuine. The third letter was genuine and not signed as President. Kevin returned the three letters to Grey Flannel for a refund. He sent a copy of his cover letter, which he had written to Grey Flannel, to Jimmy Spence of PSA. Kevin received an immediate refund from Grey Flannel for these letters. No response from Jimmy Spence.
The December print edition of the American Memorabilia auction catalog contained item #725 a photo which is titled "Babe Ruth Signed Photo", COA: PSA-DNA. An e mail, sent to their mailing list, was received by me stating that there are updates, changes and corrections in their auction, which are then posted on their website. Item 725 is now called a Babe Ruth Secretarial Signature, "which in itself is rare." (they state that in their description of the photo). A rare secretarial? Wow!. Authenticators PSA-DNA. What does the original COA from PSA state? Did the COA state it was an authentic Babe Ruth signature? It is obviously a secretarial. Did the COA state that it was a secretarial signature? What did happen here? The photo, according to their website, sold for over $800.
It's been revealed that PSA has an "unsatisfactory" record according to the Better Business Bureau of the Southland for a "pattern of unanswered and unresolved customer complaints.
Kevin Keating has written to me about a number of problems he had with PSA-DNA. All his information is very well documented. He purchased a Roberto Clemente single signed ball from Hunt Auctions. The ball had a COA from PSA. After owning the ball for a period of time he submitted the ball to Mastro Auctions, to sell for him, and the ball was returned to him. (they also use PSA). The rejection letter stated that the Clemente signed baseball had signatures removed from three panels and that they cannot determine the authenticity of the Clemente signature. This incident happened over a period of only a few months. In addition Kevin had purchased auction items with PSA authentication some time earlier, and then resubmitted them for sale later on, to the same auction house. They were rejected.
MAJOR INDICTMENTS - Stan Fitzgerald, his wife and his mother were indicted by the Federal government, on April 20,2004 and taken into custody on April 23. The
business he ran was STAN'S SPORTS MEMORABILIA. Tim Fitzsimmons of the FBI
accumulated evidence that purportedly shows that Stan Fitzgerald sold at least
$2,000,000 worth of fakes from Nov, 1995 to Oct, 1999.
His fake autographs were always accompanied by COA's from SCAA or J. DiMaggio. Stan did have some private signings. Those items did not have those COA's. Click above to read a story about a former major league umpire who has pled guilty to selling forged memorabilia!
In a follow up to the American Memorabilia-PSA story below, two days after I e mailed
the original story to my mailing list and posted it on my website and on the
autograph newsgroup, there was a change on the American Memorabilia web page
which listed that 500 HR baseball. The bid, formerly listed at $1429, is now listed as $0 and no winning bidder listed. The authenticator listed on this lot now
reads: PSA/DNA James Spence, where previously it had listed PSA/DNA and Mike
Gutierrez with no mention of James Spence. They made changes on that
web page and added the name of James Spence as the authenticator. Why did American Memorabilia make so many changes to that web page
and leave PSA/DNA as the authenticator, eliminate the name of Mike Gutierrez as
the authenticator, and add the name of James Spence as authenticator to the
page? Mr. Spence has stated that the ball was knocked down by PSA yet he is listed as the authenticator. Why? In the March,2004 auction of American Memorabilia, Lot 190 was a signed 500 Home Run baseball with 12 signatures. The online catalog and printed catalog listing for this baseball stated that PSA/DNA and Mike Gutierrez had authenticated the baseball. Several experienced collectors and dealers, viewing the catalog and the online pictures, were of the opinion that the ball contained at least one very questionable signature. One of them communicated with Jimmy Spence of PSA/DNA, questioning the authenticity of the baseball. Mr. Spence stated that PSA/DNA had not authenticated the baseball. He further stated "the ball was knocked down by us" and that American Memorabilia "inadvertently forgot to pull it." Mr. Spence then stated that Victor Moreno (head of American Memorabilia) was "notified to remove the baseball from the auction."
According to the American Memorabilia website the baseball was never removed, the wording on the website always stated PSA/DNA and Mike Gutierrez had authenticated the baseball, and the ball sold for $1429 to bidder 7197. After the auction ended I contacted Victor Moreno of American Memorabilia for his side of this story. I asked him if he had a PSA COA for this baseball. He stated "PSA pulled out on that." When I asked him why he still stated in his auction that PSA had issued a COA for the ball, he said "I better let you talk to Kieta." (his partner). I was put on hold for seven minutes and Kieta finally got on the phone. She said "Richard, I am gonna have to call you back." I told her I was sending out my newsletter and I wanted to get their side of the story, but she repeated "I am gonna have to call you back." I waited for a call back, it never came.
Let me sum up. Mr. Spence said PSA/DNA knocked down the baseball. Yet the American Memorabilia website stated that they had a PSA COA for the baseball. When questioned Mr. Moreno claims "PSA pulled out on that."
Mr. Spence stated that Mr. Moreno was "notified to remove the baseball from the auction." Yet the ball was sold in the auction, with the claim that there was a PSA COA with the baseball.
Really bad items on ebay. These two baseballs were recently on ebay. They both had probable shill bids. These two qualify as among the worst forgeries I have ever seen. A brief interview with Tim Fitzsimmons of the FBI. The August,2003 issue of "The Forbes Collector" had an article about ebay. The writer interviewed many people including FBI agent (in charge of Operation Bullpen) Tim Fitzsimmons. Mr. Fitzsimmons says "forgers are very sophisticated. Combing thrift stores for old paper and pens." He comments about how even authenticators have come into question. Mr. Fitzsimmons states in this Forbes article that "Donald Frangipani was the "authenticator of choice" of many of the forgers Operation Bullpen convicted. Though Frangipani denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged, his name has appeared on hundreds of certificates of authenticity that vouched for fake sports autographs."
Beware of,,,,,. A client of mine just sent me a Babe Ruth signed photo to examine. The autograph looked bogus to me and the photo was not a first generation copy. Second/third generation copies would have been highly unlikely to have been signed by Babe Ruth. Look at the back of the photo. I have illustrated the photo here. "FBI PROVIDES COPIES OF FAKED COA's" by Rocky Landsverk, May 16 Sports Collectors Digest The FBI provided SCD with many COA's that came with fake autographs. They include COA's from companies such as: J. Dimaggio, Hollywood Dons, Universal, W. W. Sportscards, Stardust Collectibles, Aladdin Collectibles, Hollywood Memories, General Pictures, Sport Card Kid, Prize Possessions, Sports Management Group, Legacy Sports Memorabilia and Jungle K.
There would be virtually no real autographs connected to any of these COA's. In addition the FBI supplied SCD with other COA's because the FBI has a large quantity of fake autographs in its warehouse with these COA's/ But the FBI states that it is also possible to find real items with these COA's also. These COA's included ",,,", Donald Frangipani, Truly Unique Collectibles, Sports Alley Memorabilia and others. This story is based on information provided directly by the FBI.
I have always been skeptical of signed vintage wire photos. In my opinion they were just not that plentiful and available for players to sign.
I received a Babe Ruth wire photo to examine today. I was somewhat skeptical of the signature. The paper caption on the back referred to a mid century poll taken by the Associated Press to name the greatest baseball player ever. I researched the poll on the Internet and found out that it was conducted in 1950. Babe passed away in 1948. Seems he kept on signing, even after he passed away. Here is the photo. I think that I have found the dumbest autograph seller ever to exist on ebay. He attempted to sell a very bogus cut signature of Babe Ruth. In his ad he stated that the signature came with a Scoreboard COA. Scoreboard issued COA's for signings they WITNESSED. Scoreboard started business about 30 years AFTER Ruth died. Here is a copy of this doctored COA. This seller really takes the prize for stupidity. He actually stated in his ad "Scoreboard COA." This is the copy that he sent out upon request. Ebay has removed this moron's ad. I received a photo to examine on 1/14/03 from a client. It was a "signed" photo of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. When I started my examination it immediately appeared to me that the photo was a computer generated photograph and was not signed. An examination under magnification confirmed that there did not appear to be any ink on the photo. The reverse side of the photo had a "Kodak Image Magic Paper" imprint. I called Kodak in Rochester, NY. I spoke to their product information department. A Kodak employee told me that this paper was first manufactured by Kodak in 1996. That would make it difficult for Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris to sign it. They both died before the paper was printed. Here is the photo. It was sold on ebay. This seller has sold two copies of this and other "autographed photos." My client and one other buyer have received refunds. The seller was suspended. I win a lawsuit against a slanderer. In July, 2001 a slanderous e mail campaign was begun against myself and others, over the Internet, by people using an AOL account. These people also had ebay accounts. Ebay has suspended these accounts. My ebay feedback was used to obtain names of my clients, and they received slanderous e mail via ebay's e mail system. The people who conducted this campaign hid behind the AOL account and thought that they were anonymous and "bulletproof." I filed a lawsuit in Federal court, and subpoenaed AOL and ebay. AOL immediately supplied me with the real name of the account owner. Ebay supplied me with information about all sales activity related to the accounts, revealing a great deal of interesting information. Many autograph items on ebay were sold by the account holder, most with forensic authentication. I then served these people with the lawsuit and presented them with deposition questions. No longer able to hide anonymously they offered a full retraction of the slander and a sum of money to settle the case. I did not regard the money as sufficient and they raised their offer, more than once, to a significant five figure sum. I accepted their offer at that point and the case has been settled to my satisfaction. I received the full signed retraction and a significant five figure sum.
Here is another anti forgery website that I recommend. Click the link. What to do if you have been defrauded. Read about what I have accomplished: READ HOW I HELPED A FORGER GO TO PRISON: READ HOW I IDENTIFIED FORGERIES ON EBAY: Here is a quote from the U.S. Attorney's report of 2/14/2001:
"To date Operation Bullpen has uncovered numerous counterfeit items THAT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPANIED (emphasis added) by certificates of authenticity from a number of nationwide operations. These operations include S.C.A.A., J. Dimaggio & Company, ".." and Donald Frangipani (authentication services). Although it has not been determined that all items from these companies are counterfeit, consumers should be aware of the fact that VARIOUS COUNTERFEITS HAVE BEEN LOCATED (emphasis added) associated with these concerns." Those COA's were all over ebay. Did you buy autographs on ebay with those COA's?
If you have any SOLID information about big money forgers then call Tim Fitzsimmons of the FBI. His number is 858-499-7814. Laser printed forgeries. It appears that the forgers have gotten even more sophisticated. Apparently a laser printing device is now being used to exactly duplicate autographs. This can be detected by the lack of pen pressure on the item and the fact that the autograph just seems to "lie" on top of the page with no indentation from the pen and no interruption in the flow of ink. The signatures are dead on accurate though, so be careful.
Theft from the Hall of Fame. A story in the NY Daily News on April 13 reveals that four Presidential signed balls which had been given to Walter Johnson had been stolen years ago. They have been recovered by the FBI and returned to the Hall of Fame. The balls turned up in auction catalogs and were spotted by the grandson of Walter Johnson. This is only one of several incidents of theft from the Hall of Fame. One of them involves a very well known dealer, who under the pretext of "making photocopies" stole numerous items. This took place a number of years ago. I have interviewed the eyewitness to this theft, who confirmed the entire story to me, including the name of the dealer. I know of three people who separately purchased autographed items with white out on the back from this dealer. The white out covered up the words "Property of Baseball Hall of Fame". The FBI is aware of who the guilty party is, but the Hall of Fame declined to press charges. This incident was written up in the New York Daily News. Click the link to read this story. These stolen items have been passed into the hobby by this dealer, who denies the story to this day, despite the evidence (four witnesses). If you have bought items with COA's from Donald Frangipani, how do you feel now? Unfortunately you are probably out of luck, many of the autographs he "authenticated" were sold by people who are now in Federal prison, and they are not in a country club prison either, and the IRS has confiscated all of their money. Just ask FBI Agent Tim Fitzsimmons. Sherlock Holmes and chicpea from Kentucky, where are you guys now? Chicpea (a pseudonym) stopped selling autographs virtually the day that the Marino family got busted. Think that is a coincidence? Chicpea is a SUSPENDED ebay seller who insisted Mr. Frangipani was bulletproof and "Sherlock" Holmes :), is a friend of Donald (FOD), who keeps insisting I am wrong. Chic is also a FOD, he also threatened to sue me. That was over two years ago. I am still waiting. Who did you suck in on that Mathewson bat chic? He actually sold a Christy Mathewson signed bat on ebay for $2500. Can you imagine, a $40,000 item for $2500. When I first wrote about this he threatened to sue me. Not a peep from him since the FBI busted the Marino family. Can you stand up to discovery motions chic?? Not likely. Here is the equation: Marino family > middle man > chic > ebay buyer. The autograph on the bat is a forgery!
Forgery ring busted. Two brothers who led a ring that distributed forged sports and celebrity memorabilia have been sentenced to nearly 3 1/2 years in prison.
Gregory Marino, 39, and John Marino, 37, were sentenced this week in federal court.
In April, they and three relatives pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and tax evasion. They were among 25 people charged after a three-year federal investigation called Operation Bullpen.
Fake items seized by authorities bore the names of Mark McGwire, Michael Jordan, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Jerry Garcia. Even a baseball supposedly signed by Mother Teresa was found.
The Marinos also forfeited a home, land, a boat and cash.
This link will take you to a story about autograph theft from the Baseball Hall of Fame, published in the NY Daily News, August 20,2000,, very interesting reading - just click the icon and read this VERY INTERESTING STORY. NONE OF THOSE ARRESTED WERE UACC REGISTERED DEALERS OR IADA DEALERS. Here are some QUOTES from the full 72 page indictment of Greg Marino: (forger who is going to prison) (much of this information was obtained from FBI wiretaps, recordings of those indicted) Forged items that were confiscated, all had COA's, (according to one of my very good sources) which are mentioned in the report include: forged baseballs of Mother Teresa, Ruth, Cobb, Mantle, McGwire and Sosa. Cut autographs included Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Presley, Cagney, Disney, Chaplin, Cobb, Ruth, Mathewson, Young and Clemente. There were many more. MANY ARE RESOLD ON EBAY.
The FBI report states that: This is a statement from the FBI: "My COA's have been forged" he states. According to the interview in Sweet Spot Magazine he says "I had a detective in Boston area purchase Foxx, Gehrig and Ruth cut signatures with my letters that were faked". Thus the Boston police should have a report of his forged COA's. I have tried to get the police report number and date of this incident, I have asked for a copy of the report. If this happened it is a matter of public record. I have had no success. "I know a guy in Canada who is forging my letters", he states. Do the Canadian police have a report on this? Through another party, who provided me with the contact information, I have now talked to a police detective from Fall River, Mass. Here is what that detective told me. In 2000, on his own initiative he saw three autographs on ebay offered by a Canadian seller, they were advertised as having COA's from Mr Frangipani. At that time he did not even know who Mr Frangipani was. The autographs were cuts of Ruth, Gehrig and Cobb. He won the three items on ebay for a total price of less than $1000. Ebay had a power outage at the end of those auctions, ending bidding early, and the seller sold the items anyway. The detective told the seller that he would check the autographs out. He paid for the autographs via credit card and when he received them, he sent them to Mr Frangipani. Mr. Frangipani did not examine the autographs, though he offered to, but stated that the COA's were not his, that his were signed in blue and that these COA's had a black signature. The detective believes that these COA's are photocopies of original COA's from Mr. Frangipani, and that the seller had originals and made photocopies of the originals for subsequent fraudulent sales. The detective cancelled the purchase on his Visa card, and still has the COA's and autographs. The detective has signed a notarized statement, he recalls probably at Mr Frangipani's request, regarding this. The seller never requested the return of the autographs.That tells you a lot about the seller. So it would appear that at least 3 COA's of Mr Frangipani have been recopied by a questionable seller in Canada. I am unaware of any action taken by Mr Frangipani against this seller who used bogus COA's. If any of my readers have COA's of Mr Frangipani which appear photocopied and would have a black "signature", then you apparently don't have an original Frangipani COA. The COA with the Ford Frick photo mentioned above is signed in blue ink.
Click here to return to top of page. Sweet Spot Magazine in the Feb/March issue has several articles about buying autographs on the Internet, a story about equipment expert Dave Bushing and his comments about Internet auctions, read his comments about autographs on items that the player could not have possibly signed and the COA's that came with them. The COA's coming from Mr Frangipani. Read about the balls that were produced in 1950 signed by Ruth and Gehrig, the balls produced in Jamaica by Worth in 1966 or later with signatures of Hornsby (died in 1963) and Alexander (died in 1950). A Worth ball produced in the mid 1940's signed by Christy Mathewson (died in 1925), all these balls had COA's from Mr Frangipani. Read about the Haiti balls (1960's or 1970) signed by Babe Ruth and submitted to American Memorabilia to auction with a COA. These forgers don't even do minimal homework. Read about the Devega ball produced in the 1970's signed by Lou Gehrig. All these balls had COA's from the same Mr Frangipani. How many mistakes can he make?? How many self admitted "mistakes" will we have to see. He makes "mistakes", that is his answer. I am not guaranteeing the item he states. These are quotes from his interview in Sweet Spot Magazine. What does his COA represent? If he admits to these documented mistakes, what does his COA represent? What good is his opinion on a COA when items that were absolutely impossible to have been signed by the player in question have been "authenticated"? His COA has appeared with many baseballs that came out after the signer had died according to the story in Sweet Spot Magazine c/oKaufman Communications, 816 Congress, Suite 1280, Austin, TX 78701
http://www.rockaway.com/online/online/title.php?ItemID=608
you will see that the exact same album/award is being offered by Rockaway Records for $750 and they state that the signature is a facsimile. The signatures on both these albums match exactly.
Here is the link to the American Memorabilia sale at $6060 for the Springsteen award, with a signature authenticated by PSA.
http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/Auction_Item.asp?auction_id=10282&aucsearch=bruce%20springsteen&aucperiod=&auclisttype=&auccat=&tfm_orderby=&tfm_order=
On 1/14 I wrote to American Memorabilia suggesting that they issue a refund.
Here is a copy of an e mail sent to American Memorabilia to alert them of this problem:
> From: Smith
> award pictured in SCD was NOT authentically signed by Bruce as you've
> described. Every single one of these awards (& they presented
> hundreds & hundreds) contains the very same label with the same
> PRE-PRINTED facsimile signature. I have several of these labels and
> a scan is attached. PSA/DNA is completely incorrect. (Just so
> you know, I have authenticated Springsteen memorabilia for many years
> for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Odyssey Group , R&R Enterprises and
> others). Sincerely, Billy Smith. (Former owner of "The Asbury Park
> Rock & Roll Museum")
I want to thank Shelly Jaffe who suggested I contact Columbia Records. We did that by phone and here is the e-mail reply we received from Columbia:
From: Columbia_Marketing@sonymusic.com
[mailto:Columbia_Marketing@sonymusic.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 1:51 PM
To: hearwell@cox.net
Subject: Re: FW: Emailing: Auction_Item.htm
The company that made it stamped the signature on, it is NOT authentic!
I wrote to Kieta at American Memorabilia informing them of what Columbia Records said. She never replied. Did the buyer ever get a refund?
Here are the scans from both catalogs. The first American Memorabilia. The second from Rockaway Records.
I wrote to American Memorabilia
for an explanation. They never replied. The page has been changed again. Now PSA/James Spence is no longer listed as the authenticator. Why?
A fact that you should know, I am also in the authentication business and I
have in the past been an authenticator for American Memorabilia, and an employee of PSA (I left years ago) but my
motivation here is to get to the truth in this matter.
Note the address of the company on the label on the back of the photo. The address includes a zip code. Zip codes came into existence in the 1960's. This copy photo was printed after Babe Ruth died. Just another case of an idiot forger not doing any homework.
If you feel you have been defrauded by a seller on the Internet, report that seller to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC). Here is their link:
IFCC Link
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
Click for page 2 of Forgery Alert, including a study of Babe Ruth's ghost signed autograph.
NEW!!
CLICK HERE FOR A PAGE PICTURING QUESTIONABLE AUTOGRAPHS.
Click to read some pages from the INDICTMENT of Greg Marino, the major forger in California, now in Federal prison. The information in this indictment comes from the FBI. This will give you the inside story about the forgery ring and tell you what the FBI found out about forgers, sellers and COA's and it will help you avoid problems now. Find out what the Federal Government says about WHO AUTHENTICATED FORGERIES AND WHAT RETAILERS BOUGHT THEM!
Click to read an interesting story on another forgery alert site.
READ WHAT THE FBI HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE "AUTHENTICATORS"
While portions of the FBI presentation at a trade show rehashed facts already divulged in the past year and a half, much of the information was original, including the revelation that besides those who were arrested, there are several authenticators who certified the bad product who either have shrewdly escaped being charged or were simply wrong in their authentications, Fitzsimmons said. He mentioned several fake items with COAs from Donald Frangipani, who hasn't been charged. "That's true with many, many authenticators in the business and that's one of the true problems in this business," Halpern added.
IF YOU HAVE ITEMS FOR SALE OR CARE TO SEND ME YOUR COMMENTS
CLICK THE MAIL ICON TO SEND ME AN E MAIL.
CLICK for information about getting autographs authenticated.
Click to read some pages from the indictment of forger Greg Marino who is now in Federal prison.
NEW NEWS
from the AP: On April 27, FIVE MEMBERS OF THE MARINO FAMILY PLED GUILTY in Federal court. They can be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison. They admitted to producing THOUSANDS OF FORGERIES a month. A large percentage wound up on ebay with "handwriting expert" COA's.
Operation Bullpen targeted a network of forgers and distributors AS WELL AS OTHERS who provided FAKE AUTHENTICATION DOCUMENTS intended to persuade buyers items were legitimate. The press release details how the operation was run. How the "distributors utilized individuals who purport to examine the item and render an "expert" opinion as to the authenticity. Frequently, the authenticators have forensic expertise and claim to (or actually) have scientifically compared the signature to known examples. THE ROLE OF THE AUTHENTICATOR IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE CRIMINAL VENTURE".
That is a quote from the U.S. Attorney. The FBI reported that the operations of the J. Dimaggio Co. (authenticator on ebay) were shut down. They state over 1000 taped conversations took place between their agents and FORGERS, SELLERS and AUTHENTICATORS of forged memorabilia. The report goes on to discuss the operations of the authenticators and the sellers, and how they would shift blame upon the other if an item was proven to be bogus. Here is a quote from the U.S. Attorney:"The forgers searched for vintage paper and ink, and hired UNSCRUPULOUS AUTHENTICATORS to falsely verify their work".
THE U.S. ATTORNEY STATES IN THE INDICTMENT:
This is from page 58:
"On or about July 7,1999, Stan Fitzgerald (Stans Sports) , in Caldwell, NJ, sent a second fax to Wayne Bray (head of SCAA, prolific on ebay) in San Marcos, California, ordering over 1,000 autographed photos, including 100 John Lennon, 100 Mantle/Maris, 50 Jerry Garcia and 50 John Wayne".
"On or about July 8, 1999 in Tustin, California Sheldon Jaffe told Wayne Bray that he should ship the rest of his order of COUNTERFEIT MEMORABILIA TO DON FRANGIPANI so that he could provide him with certificates AUTHENTICATING THE FORGERIES AS GENUINE". Reread that.
From page 68:
"On or about August 19,1999, in Tustin, California, Sheldon Jaffe spoke with Wayne Bray and told him that FRANGIPANI HAD AUTHENTICATED AS GENUINE THE COUNTERFEIT BASEBALLS THAT WERE FORGED BY GREG MARINO". Reread that.
"On or about August 20,1999 in San Clemente, California, Rino Ruberti , shipped to Stan Fitzgerald (Stans Sports) approximately SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF COUNTERFEIT MEMORABILIA".
Paragraph 53 - "As a further part, and to conceal the existence of the conspiracy, other coconspirators began utilizing both SCAA and J. Dimaggio Company to authenticate their forgeries. Wayne Bray would check the forgeries to ensure they were high quality". (high quality? Most of what I saw was VERY low quality).
Paragraph 54 - "As a further part, and to conceal the existence of the conspiracy, the coconspirators also obtained certificates of authenticity from "..." , Authentic Autographs Unlimited ("AAU"), Donald Frangipani and others to disguise the fact that the memorabilia they were selling was counterfeit".
Paragraph 109 - "James Dimaggio would authenticate anything when he needed money", the Marinos' stated. The Marino brothers also asserted that the authenticators were the true crooks "cause everybody authenticates s---". They went on to state that the government most likely is "not gonna look at the guy who's sellin' 'em or doin' 'em. It's the guy authenticatin' 'em that was most likely to be the focus of law enforcement efforts".
Note how Mr Frangipani is mentioned THREE times in this indictment. Note the context he is mentioned in, though Mr. Frangipani has not been indicted.
"IF THE PRICE IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT IS PROBABLY A FAKE".
"THE AUTHENTICATOR IS EITHER A KNOWING OR UNKNOWING, BUT INCOMPETENT, PARTICIPANT IN THE FRAUD".
They also state "before purchasing vintage memorabilia, ask questions about the history and circumstances relating to the autograph. Be wary of far fetched or elaborate stories which are difficult, if not impossible to verify." Many ebay autograph sellers like to write their own rules which no other autograph dealers operate by.
HERE IS THE STORY ABOUT THE BLACK AND BLUE INK ON COA'S FROM MR. FRANGIPANI.
READ THIS NOW!!!
