FAKE packs and an FBI Fraud Investigation: What would YOU do?

[hamilton989]

Hi,

I am new to this forum but not new to this issue at all. I was recently made aware of the allegations (very confusing) surrounding the dealer and have some insight to add. As I am (or was) an avid collector of unopened material with stars showing, I have dealt with Jose one time in the past. You can see my pack collection at http://thehistorykids.net/packs

Anyhow, a couple of things:
1.) The very same people the guy is throwing under the bus now vigorously defended him when I brought up suspicion about him in a different forum in 2011.
2.) He is presenting himself as some kind of crusader for the integrity of this sub-hobby. Kool-aid anyone?
3.) Below is what I brought up on the other forum and his response back in 2011.

Monday December 19, 2011 4:00 PM

Thanks everyone for welcoming into the forum. A couple of people have asked about my experiences with the ebay dealer E******, and although I have no intention of disparaging anyone or any dealer here on this forum, I will relay one experience I had with him which led me to leave him negative feedback on ebay:

A couple of years ago, he auctioned off a 1983 fleer rack pack that had Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn showing on the front. I won the auction, paid him immediately and thought he would send the rack promptly. Two or so days later, he refunded my money and reported to ebay that the pack was damaged in handling. In thinking to myself how someone could have damaged a 1983 fleer pack when packaging it up, I came to the conclusion that he didn't want ME to buy it. This particular dealer subsequently banned me from all of his auctions. My guess is that he knew I could tell a fake pack from a real pack and he was hesitant in sending me the fake. I left him negative feedback. Confirming my suspicions, after the 90 day period where I could no longer submit any formal complaints, and at the time, when images would be deleted from ebay's database, the very same rack pack came up for auction from him again. So, it really wasn't damaged in "handling," he was hesitant to sell it to me. This combined with his seemingly endless supply of unbelievable unopened material including star racks and cellos from every year imaginable has led me to believe he sells inauthentic stuff.

This is only my opinion based on my limited experiences with him. I have never actually received unopened material from him. It is very likely he sells legitimate stuff as well, I guess. I will remove the line on my page that mentions him, as I never intended this topic to be brought up here.

Pepis e-mail to me:

Hello Greg,
when i went to get the pack out of the cabinet
in my office, it was gone! stolen! probably
by some youg kid friend of the family i think,
i hoping to get it back, but is taking me some time
to investigate, so, for now i have to give you
a refund on it, i have a very similar pack listed
right now (Gwynn/Sandberg graded 9.5 also)
item # 250172307764
if you by chance happen to like it, i would be
happy to exchange it, i apologize for the
inconvenience, although the loser here is me.
Jose

4.) The guy's (the pepis guy) response in the forum when I called him out

Unfortunately, this has been a feud that has gone on for four years. I have posted the original email below showing in detail how your recount of the story is incorrect. The pack was stolen by my sons friend. I am an honest, truthful man. I have a reputation on e-bay and well before the internet was invented of dealing honestly and being a straight shooter. I have been in the card business for over 40 years. You can ask any of my customers how much I am respected in the industry. I would appreciate if in the future you stick to the truth, so I don't have to present information to prove my credibility against your erroneous accusations. I am sorry that you have not gotten over a situation 4 years old, that was out of my control. Even though, as a man who respects customer service, I tried to make amends when the incident happened. You called me a liar then, which was incorrect, and now you post lies about me on a forum. That is not what a man does.