Mastro Auctions: Looking for Former Employees

[jerrys]

Mastro Auctions drove up auction bids by a shill bidding scheme on auction items from 2002 to 2009. Only the records from 2007 to 2009 have been recovered and documented by Government agencies. The earlier bidding records from 2002 to 2007 were destroyed. Victim loss during just that period was stated at $1,976,303.00. Mastro paid a $250,000 government fine and served a total 20 month sentence at federal prison camp at Pekin, Il., combined with a half-way house - released in May 2017. No penalty for destroying records. No restitution. The loot remains in the hands of the offender. Crime pays.
Mark Theotikos was released June 2017 from federal camp in Marion, Il.
Doug Allen release date is June, 2019 from federal camp at Perkin, Il.
These were the executives that orchestrated the seven-year fraudulent scheme - some employees had non-prison penalties.
However, there were many non-Mastro associates joined in the fraud by forming active consignor/shill bidder partnerships to participate in the bid boosting scams. These partners have significantly enriched themselves while evading exposure or penalty. Their victims are left without restitutions also.

[chalupacollects]

With no skin in this game the need to chime in hits. Frank Abagnale (whom I have met) turned his life around for the better.

This fellow Mark who I don't know may be on that path also but maybe should show some good faith in offering to make some sort of restitution, otherwise there does not seem to be a reason to grant any trust. If he is sincere about being good for the hobby he should publicly commit to offering up some sort of restitution plan to at least make an effort.

If it cannot be determined who of the victims should get said restitution then maybe publicly donate it to a hobby voted on charity...

Tim Hunt

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

The fact that none of the "big three" have cooperated in trying to get the justice system the whole picture (destroyed records, names of other participants and/or victims) to me speaks volumes, as does a lack of even token restitution.

[egbeachley]

Originally Posted by jerrys

Only the records from 2007 to 2009 have been recovered and documented by Government agencies. The earlier bidding records from 2002 to 2007 were destroyed. Victim loss during just that period was stated at $1,976,303.00.

If I recall correctly, the way the victim loss amount was calculated was ridiculous. They considered one shill bid made at $50 towards an item that eventually sold for $5,000 as being a loss to victims of $5,000.

Not defending, just pointing it out.

[ajg]

When the book or movies is written it should be called "The Big Shill"

[Yoda]

I would have to believe that the public shame, embarrassment and ruined reputations must be much worse than the prison time served by these three.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I would have to believe that the public shame, embarrassment and ruined reputations must be much worse than the prison time served by these three.

Seriously? I would imagine there are few things in life worse than incarceration, even in minimum security facilities.

[Yoda]

Yeah, but when you get out you have to face the reality of what your future is going to look like, the shunning by people you thought were friends, limited employment chances since you are now a felon, the shame put on your family by association, probably too much time on your hands, etc. I think Mark is very lucky to be offered a second chance by Heritage, particularly rejoining the same industry where he got up to his nefarious activities. I have never been inside, fortunately, but have to think the monotony of minimum security prison life can provide some kind rough comfort.

[Kenny Cole]

It is hard for me to feel much, if any, sympathy for someone who is getting shunned by people who he thought were his friends because he CHEATED them. He's probably lucky they aren't trying to figure out a way to sue his sorry ass off and make his life even more miserable. He made his choices and now he gets to reap what he sowed. Not one tear being shed here.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Seriously? I would imagine there are few things in life worse than incarceration, even in minimum security facilities.

Mr Spaeth you have lived a sheltered life.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Mr Spaeth you have lived a sheltered life.

Well my statement was perhaps hyperbolic but then again I was responding to a post saying being embarrassed publicly was worse than being jailed.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I would have to believe that the public shame, embarrassment and ruined reputations must be much worse than the prison time served by these three.

I would agree to a point, but if you' are getting out of prison and immediately being hired by a leader in the very industry in which you committed your crime, where's the shame, embarrassment and ruined reputation?

[jerrys]

The document I referred to was not meant for the public but for the FBI report. The FBI have difference criteria for evidence that is applied which enables them to prove a dollar loss amount to set a sentencing for a crime. Their files must be 100% complete and accurate, not up for interpretation and favorable to the defendant. Yes Eric the actual dollar amount is much higher than stated. And again, this only is for the period 2007 to 2009.

My point of the post was that non-Mastro employee consignors of lots in those auctions found a partner to shill bid his/her lots. These partners are just as guilty of fraud as the Mastro family but have escaped exposure or penalty.

[egbeachley]

Originally Posted by jerrys

The document I referred to was not meant for the public but for the FBI report. The FBI have difference criteria for evidence that is applied which enables them to prove a dollar loss amount to set a sentencing for a crime. Their files must be 100% complete and accurate, not up for interpretation and favorable to the defendant. Yes Eric the actual dollar amount is much higher than stated. And again, this only is for the period 2007 to 2009.

My point of the post was that non-Mastro employee consignors of lots in those auctions found a partner to shill bid his/her lots. These partners are just as guilty of fraud as the Mastro family but have escaped exposure or penalty.

I have seen some of the governments calculations on the Exhibits and they are not only incorrect,they are blatantly stupid. Far from 100% accurate as you imagine.

A couple shill bids placed for $100 each at an early level with frequent bidding, and then a final shill of $500 placed when the price was 5x higher, was calculated as a $700 loss when the first 2 bids clearly had no effect. But even worse calculation was when a single shill was placed early and the item sold for much higher, they said the loss was the full amount paid. I believe one item that sold for $4,800 was identified as a $4,500 loss to the victim.

I’m not trying to minimize the crime, and certainly the missing years are important, but mis-stating the numbers raises doubt. They didn’t need to inflate them.

[Dewey29]

I would like to start with a full disclosure by stating that I joined this board today with the sole purpose of posting a response to comments in this thread. I have known Mark personally and professionally for more than 30 years and I had a couple purchases with Mastro but don’t believe I was defrauded in any way. I also happily wrote a letter to the judge prior to Mark’s sentencing. My letter in short said Mark is not a bad person. He is a good person that made a bad decision (or decisions). I will follow up on that in a moment.

The first question that I must ask the board is how many of you actually read the full court documents including the sentencing hearing? I’m not calling anyone out, just asking as I imagine some (not all) posting on here have not. Reading those documents can make you very happy you’re not an attorney, but without reading them you may not have all the facts.

There was a poster on this thread that raised the issue of hiring Mark and compared him to Bill Mastro. That is like comparing apples and oranges as evidenced by the U. S. Attorney Zachary Fardon who admitted Mark was largely following the orders of his bosses rather than orchestrating the scheme. He said Mark “opted to take a hands-on role to promote shill bidding, rather than demand change or at least leave the company and find a new position.”

Before anyone reacts, Mark was guilty of committng a crime. He confessed to that and there is no disputing that. However, there is a major difference between being the head of an organization that comes up with a scheme to defraud and a subordinate that is following orders/instructions. Certainly still illegal, but very very different IMO.

For anyone that believes Mark made a fortune through this crime, I have attached a link below to an article which states “from 2002 to 2008, Theotikos worked for Mastro, where he participated in auction operations at a salary of about $100,000 per year.” Now $100k is a solid salary, but how many of you would go through what he has for a $100k salary for 6 years? The reality here is Mark was put in a bad spot by Mr. Mastro and/or Mr. Allen. Mark should have made the decision to leave the company and find new employment. He chose to stay and through that decision committed a crime for which he has paid severely (and everyone on here is entitled to their own opinion on the severity).

For anyone that feels like he hasn't been punished enough let me pose a question. How many of you would be willing to up and quit your job if your current boss asked you to do something you thought was illegal or immoral? It’s easy to cast stones, but when you’re in that situation and the sole earner while raising a family it’s not an easy decision. Some may say, he should have gone to another auction house. That’s a fair statement. How many other auction houses are there in Chicago? I don’t believe there are any. So let me ask the question again in a different way. How many of you would quit your job and relocate your entire family to another state because you thought what your boss was asking you to do was illegal or immoral? If you’re boss is telling you to do you’re not the bad guy right? Besides if you speak up and criticize your boss your the troublemake that isn’t a team player. That will really help you with getting your next job. Right? It’s a very very tough thing to do and I would bet if people are being honest with themselves, most would stay and begrudgingly do what they were asked to do.

To recap, Mark did commit a crime and was convicted of that crime. He has served his sentence and paid a steep price for his actions. I’m not making any excuses for him. However, I stand by my letter to the judge. Mark is a good man that made a bad decision. Anyone that thinks Mark would ever make the same mistake again has simply never met Mark.

Thanks for allowing me to post here and I hope I didn’t offend too many people as that’s not my intent. Those that have been wronged by Mastronet are certainly well within their rights to be upset. Having good knowledge of what really transpired leads me to believe their anger may be misplaced which is why I wanted to make this post.

https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...yee-sentenced/

[Stonepony]

Well just a couple comments to the above post.
1) The " good guy who made bad decisions" and " just following orders " arguments hold NO water with me with regard to guilt.
2) If my boss asked me to do something illegal or immoral- hell
yes I would move on
3) I have made my share of bad decisions/ choices during my lifetime.

[irv]

You make some valid points, and it's too bad he was in the position/career he was in, but that does not dissolve what he knowingly did.

He paid the price for his decision not to out them, which, I'm sure, if he had to do it all over again, he would, but sometimes we have to do the right things from the get go, especially if one is smart enough to reasonably know or recognize, that what they were doing would one day all come crashing down on them.



v=1EQQYeRAT3ohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EQQYeRAT3o

[timn1]

Sorry, this is well-intentioned BS. I can easily imagine that Mark found himself in an unpleasant dilemma when Mastro and Allen asked him to facilitate the shilling. But you have already acknowledged that he made the wrong decision. The rest is irrelevant to the main point people are making in this thread. If people here were arguing that Mark should be locked up for life, you would have a valid point. He did his time and should be allowed to pick up his life and move on - BUT NOT HANDED A PLUM JOB IN THE SAME INDUSTRY/HOBBY HE HELPED TO DEFRAUD.

IMO, that is the only point that matters. Let him be hired in any other field, and I am fine with that. But to quote Marsellus Wallace, to me he has "lost his BB card privileges."

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by Dewey29

Before anyone reacts, Mark was guilty of committng a crime. He confessed to that and there is no disputing that. However, there is a major difference between being the head of an organization that comes up with a scheme to defraud and a subordinate that is following orders/instructions. Certainly still illegal, but very very different IMO.

The Nuremberg Defense. Awesome.

There's also a big difference between "making a mistake" and doing the same illegal behavior over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...you get the point.

It's an absolute joke he got another job with an auction house and an even bigger joke that people on here are defending that.

[mantlefan]

Originally Posted by Tabe

The Nuremberg Defense. Awesome.

There's also a big difference between "making a mistake" and doing the same illegal behavior over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...you get the point.

It's an absolute joke he got another job with an auction house and an even bigger joke that people on here are defending that.

Ya know when I first started practicing medicine I had very few patients and I earned money to pay all the bills by filling various posts. I did endoscopy procedures on Fridays for a Community Health Center. I was the Chief Medical Officer of the Floral-Park Bellerose Schools. As such I had to attend all the Varsity games. One year, in a playoff game, the team's best player injured his knee. The kid and the coach wanted to keep playing. I took him out of the game. The irate coach told me to play the kid or he'd make sure I wasn't back the next School year. I took the player to the locker room and iced his knee.....I wasn't re-hired.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by mantlefan

Ya know when I first started practicing medicine I had very few patients and I earned money to pay all the bills by filling various posts. I did endoscopy procedures on Fridays for a Community Health Center. I was the Chief Medical Officer of the Floral-Park Bellerose Schools. As such I had to attend all the Varsity games. One year, in a playoff game, the team's best player injured his knee. The kid and the coach wanted to keep playing. I took him out of the game. The irate coach told me to play the kid or he'd make sure I wasn't back the next School year. I took the player to the locker room and iced his knee.....I wasn't re-hired.

The path of integrity is often not the easiest to follow, but always the right one.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by mantlefan

Ya know when I first started practicing medicine I had very few patients and I earned money to pay all the bills by filling various posts. I did endoscopy procedures on Fridays for a Community Health Center. I was the Chief Medical Officer of the Floral-Park Bellerose Schools. As such I had to attend all the Varsity games. One year, in a playoff game, the team's best player injured his knee. The kid and the coach wanted to keep playing. I took him out of the game. The irate coach told me to play the kid or he'd make sure I wasn't back the next School year. I took the player to the locker room and iced his knee.....I wasn't re-hired.

You would have done well as an NFL team doctor.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by mantlefan

Ya know when I first started practicing medicine I had very few patients and I earned money to pay all the bills by filling various posts. I did endoscopy procedures on Fridays for a Community Health Center. I was the Chief Medical Officer of the Floral-Park Bellerose Schools. As such I had to attend all the Varsity games. One year, in a playoff game, the team's best player injured his knee. The kid and the coach wanted to keep playing. I took him out of the game. The irate coach told me to play the kid or he'd make sure I wasn't back the next School year. I took the player to the locker room and iced his knee.....I wasn't re-hired.

I have been in a position where, like you, I was pressured to do something that violated my integrity in the course of my professional duties. Refusing could potentially cost me my job. I refused. It's not always easy to do the right thing but it IS always the right thing to do the right thing.

[drmondobueno]

Originally Posted by ajg

When the book or movies is written it should be called "The Big Shill"

I was thinking “Crime Pays”.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by drmondobueno

I was thinking “Crime Pays”.

you mean white collar crime pays..


easier to steal with a pen versus a gun