Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>Frank Evanov</b><p>Poorjackman, sure one pays their debt to society, but with certain crimes there are restrictions after incarceration.<P><br /><br />"The system" does not let child molesters live near a school, nor does it allow felons to to work in law enforcement. It does allow thieves to work in "retail", but seriously, would you buy a used car from this guy? How about a $5,000 sports card?<br /><br />Frank<br /><br />[edited for grammar]

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Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>I don't think anybody "has" to know- I just feel if I had a strong opinion I wished to express I would want to attach my name to it, since I consider what I have to say a reflection of who I am (for better or worse). If you have something to say but are afraid to step forth, I just think that is kind of wimpy.

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Posted By: <b>Dan Koteles</b><p>why give more money to a guy who didnt earn it in an honest way. It doesnt matter if he did not rip off anyone of cards, but .....<br />why pay a cheater more money ? He simply doesnt deserve any kind<br />acknowledgement.....PERIOD !

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Posted By: <b>Peter_Spaeth</b><p>Frank, how about a used CARD??

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Posted By: <b>Frank Evanov</b><p>Ouch!!<br><br>Frank

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Posted By: <b>B.C.Daniels</b><p>isn't it?<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.psacard.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=4852&universeid=314" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.psacard.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=4852&universeid=314</a><br /><br /><br><br>BcD <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>JimCrandell</b><p>Prices were strong in the recent Memory Lane auction in contrast to the soft prices overall for Mastro.

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Posted By: <b>Peter_Spaeth</b><p>Almost 5k with the juice for a 59 Koufax PSA 8, a card one can find almost any week on ebay in the 450-600 range. Nice card for sure, but to pay 10 times what it's worth? I wish the winner would make me some comparable offers. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br /><a href="http://www.memorylaneinc.com/site/bid/bidplace.asp?itemid=5319&getauctionid=64" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.memorylaneinc.com/site/bid/bidplace.asp?itemid=5319&getauctionid=64</a>

Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>ramram</b><p>A reported scammer who has lost his source of income to support his lifestyle surely wouldn't turn to scamming some simple-minded card collectors, would he?<br /><br />Rob

Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>B.C.Daniels</b><p>Proverbs 26:11 <br /><br /> 11 As a dog returns to its vomit,<br /> so a fool repeats his folly.<br><br>BcD <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>joe</b><p>Kind of late in this posting, but Barry you are right that laundering money in this hobby would the place to do it. Also, how many of you read operation Bullpen about the fake autographs. Some of this stuff was going on long before the internet, and collectors talked. With the 24/7 internet and news we see it more often now. And we can speculate and discuss till days end. There were always collectors and dealers that we were suspicious about in the 70's and 80's too.<br /><br />Joe<br><br>Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: <b>JK</b><p>Just curious, anyone receive their cards won in the December auction from ML yet?

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Posted By: <b>Jeff Lichtman</b><p>Nope.

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Posted By: <b>Duncan Harvey</b><p>yes , I received my cards a week after the auction ended. I have never had a problem with buying from Meory Lane and I have won several items well below my proxy bids but this information is disturbing. Not from a card buying perspective as I wil not bid more than I want to pay if he shills me or not , but from a human nature perspective. It will be tough for me to jsutify bidding with a guy who scammed charities and continued to find loopholes to continue scamming after they were caught and the fact that legally they did not have to give up much to the charities and they were still so greedy that they couldn't do that.

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Posted By: <b>howard</b><p>"Paying one's debt to society" is just a cliched term meaning that someone spent time in prison. When this JP fellow returns the money to everyone he ripped off I will agree that he has really repaid his debt. I still wouldn't trust him, though.<br /><br />Howard<br />No criminal record, no arrests<br />

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Posted By: <b>cmoking</b><p>"Just curious, anyone receive their cards won in the December auction from ML yet?"<br /><br />nope.

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Posted By: <b>Peter_Spaeth</b><p>I looked at the FTC website in order to ascertain what presumably are the facts about this matter, and this seemed to be a pertinent excerpt. Link to the entire article below.<br /><br />The Settlement<br /><br />The stipulated order for permanent injunction announced today resolves the litigation against Cohen. The order bans him from further fundraising activities, and from engaging in future telemarketing, and it prohibits Cohen from making misrepresentations in connection with the sale of goods or services. Based on financial information submitted to the court in his criminal case, the order does not require Cohen to pay consumer redress. However, the order includes an avalanche clause that imposes a $10 million judgment against Cohen if it is found that he lied on his financial statements. The settlement also contains various recordkeeping requirements to assist the FTC in monitoring Cohen's compliance.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/05/jpcohen.htm" target="_new" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/05/jpcohen.htm</a" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/05/jpcohen.htm</a</a>>

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Posted By: <b>David Smith</b><p>Let's see; a convicted con artist is running a sports card and memorabilia business and auction (an unregulated business). His latest auction does gang buster business, setting "record" after "record".<br /><br />To me, this has shill written all over it. Why? To get great headlines and better consignments. That way, in a couple of years, JP can either sell the business for BIG bucks (the business will then fail unless the new owner also shills auctions) or JP will take the company public and again fleece an unknowing and unwary public.<br /><br />If you can steal money from people in the guise of helping injured and dead policemen, firemen and children, I see no reason why trimming a card or shilling an auction is out of bounds.<br /><br />David Smith<br /><br />No arrests or convictions but three speeding tickets.

Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>David Smith</b><p>Peter,<br /><br />So, if I am reading your post correctly, if just ONE item in his auctions is found to be misrepresented then he will have a judgemnet rendered against him??<br /><br />If that is correct, then if I were JP, I would have NEVER gotten into the auction business to begin with. But, then again, a pathological criminal LIVES for the thrill. <br /><br />So, shilling an auction (stealing while practically looking at the victim) would psychologically fit in. <br /><br /><br />David

Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>Peter_Spaeth</b><p>I don't want to give an opinion as to the legal meaning of that part of the FTC order, as the excerpt on the website is only a description and not the full text and I don't know all the facts of the case or the context. My point in posting it was that someone had mentioned repayment and it appears that at least as of the entry of the order described in the excerpt, Mr. Cohen was not ordered to make restitution ("consumer redress")-- at least not by the FTC. EDITED FOR CLARITY<br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>David Smith</b><p>So, he could have the money hidden in foreign accounts. Therefor, he could buy items from his own auctions or have someone else buy the items and pay for them out of those foreign accounts. Then, turn right around and sell the items and launder that money. All the while thumbing his nose at authorites and not paying back those he stole from.<br /><br />To quote the Guiness Beer commercials, "BRILLIANT!"<br /><br /><br />David

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Posted By: <b>dstudeba</b><p>Brian -<br /><br /> You have mentioned time and again that you are not concerned with someone's personal life. However I do not see how someone defrauding a client is personal. What JP did was business, and I think that many are therefore worried about what his current busines practices are.<br /><br /> So when Michael Fanghella gets out of jail will there be a position for him at your firm since you aren't concerned with his personal life?

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Posted By: <b>Brian</b><p>I've said I don't know any of the dealers personal or past lives that I've dealt with. Do you? What someone's done in the past is very important and one could argue is a very good indicator of what one will do in the future. I'm not the only collector out there that has worked with JP over the past few years. Like everyone else, I'll base my opinions on my personal experience. Please understand that I'm not and will never defend these articles or anyone's past. All I've ever asked is what's your experience with J.P. as a dealer today? I know everyone's opinion of the articles. I assume you've never worked with him either? I think at this point most collectors would like to have some feedback on this guy as a dealer.

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Posted By: <b>howard</b><p>I, for one, don't give a rats ass about his reputation as a dealer. I would never do any kind of business with anyone with a record like his. If others want to give him a second chance that's fine with me but I'd rather give chances to people who earn them.

Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>Steve</b><p>Sadly, I must concur with the guys that have basically stated that this guy does not deserve their money. For all i know the cards he peddles are ill gotten gains from his previous ilicit activities. Everyone deserves a second, and even a third chance. I would not have a problem if others buy and sell with him. I just won't.<br /><br /><br />Those that only care what he has done for them as a dealer can do as they wish. I will not speculate as to how he runs his auctions, I do not care. <br /><br />Steve

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Posted By: <b>TONY</b><p>I know someone who know's mr Cohen personally & he told me that he indeed did go to prison for the crimes listed here.....I also prefer not to deal with people with his background, that's a personal choice we all have to make. I'm sure due to this thread he will lose some previous customers who probably prefer to longer deal with him.....anyone who can drop $50K a nite gambling is is obviously making toooo much $$$ & has no concept of what to do with it

Very interesting reading
 

Posted By: <b>B.C.Daniels</b><p>"Memory Lane"<br />how did he acquire that name for his business?<br />What happened to the old Memory Lane of the 80's from LA that surely was not him?<br><br>BcD <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>Jason Jacobs</b><p>I have had numerous dealings with JP. Once I bought a PSA 8 1963 Fleer Willie Mays and found out it had a giant crease in the card. He did take it back. Does anyone else remember that he closed down around 2001-2002 and just started back up a year or two ago? He told me that he was quiting the card buisness and was going into day trading. If the timeline for his jailtime is correct he would of been in jail during the time he was no longer in the card buisness.

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Posted By: <b>Frank Evanov</b><p><I>Does anyone else remember that he closed down around 2001-2002 and just started back up a year or two ago? He told me that he was quiting the card buisness and was going into day trading. If the timeline for his jailtime is correct he would of been in jail during the time he was no longer in the card buisness.</I><br /><br />That has been the whole point of this thread, Jason. Mr. C. was incarcerated during that time, not day trading.<br><br>Frank

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Posted By: <b>Jason Jacobs</b><p>Ok, I thought it was still up in the air whether the person in the articles is the same JP that runs Memory Lane. I used to buy cards in auctions dating back to WIWAG's in the late 90's but stopped after all the increases in buyers premiums, account set up fees, outrageous shipping charges, the practice of increasing the auction's alloted time to allow previous bidders more time to bid, not knowing when an auction is actually over, always having your bid be maxed out. I don't think it's just JP that was doing this but as a whole the auction buisness is like printing your own money.

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Posted By: <b>David Vargha</b><p><font color=blue>Day trading . . . "I will trade you this pack of cigarettes today for protection from your people against the gang in Cellblock D."</font><br><br>DavidVargha@hotmail.com

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Posted By: <b>Jeff Lichtman</b><p>David, I was about to post something very similar to what you posted but stifled myself. Glad to see that you didn't. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>BcD</b><p>because it has been recently discussed and is being reviewed by many. It's just easier in this format rather than archived.<br><br>BcD <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>