Today's Wash. Post has major piece re the BB card fraud
 

This relatively long piece appears on the front page of the Sports Section of today's Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...=.bb9619cc4209

July 18th is today?

I read this article somewhere earlier---Mosher is a Beauty

this was posted days ago...there's a comment that says jeff lichtman is representing the huigens...I presume this is a joke!?

I see that the reporter apparently wrote this piece on July 18th. However, it does appear in TODAY'S (July 22nd) Wash. Post. Sorry! As my wife frequently reminds me, "no good deed goes unpunished."

My local newspaper, Seattle Times, has some stories go online a couple of days before they appear in print.

he has the opportunity to post on this board if it isn't true, as other lawyers have done. if it is, there may be privilege/confidentiality issues. a number of knowledgeable people believe it is true, but i imagine things will become more clear over time. it would be nice if that could happen now.

E-f$ckingads!!!

you don't see him commenting here anymore do you? Probably not a joke.... other than on us, the collectors.

That Brent Mastro is SMART. Good luck on your case Calvindog!

So sad... The amount of scum in this hobby is inpenetrable!

You will may never see a crazy Investor run up in this Industry again like we seen in 2015.....that ship has sailed....Big Money Investors don’t like uncertainty.......how can they be confident in PSA Slabbed Cards

Idk time will tell.....PSA remaining silent is sickening although not unexpected

If he is his earlier posts are brilliant.:D

ya you'd think his posts on here could be problematic?

For the record, I am not a lawyer and am not representing PWCC.

"I noticed that you didn't say you are not representing Moser."

I like a little mystery. I also didn't say I'm not dating Charlize Theron.

Can someone post the article for those of us who have expired our "Free Stories" at Washington Post?

July 22, the new groundhog day

Here is the comment:

Being that he represents El Chapo, arguably the biggest mass murderer in the history of the world, for him representing Brent would be a step toward sainthood.

Net54 shouldn't be reprinting articles in threads.

Well....I would like to read it. That's alright....I think I got the gist of it without even reading it.

Hard to stomach the irony of it all... This case will decide whether Brent's vision of "conservation" is deemed acceptable, and has the potential to adversely change the entire hobby as we know it. Yet it is one of us collectors who is leading this charge! :confused:

And he was the most vocal of anyone here when it came time to condemn Mastro/Allen for the same exact things that PWCC is doing (shilling, altering, trimming, deceiving, etc.)

Perhaps he will proudly wear this feather in his cap when PWCC is exonerated, and Brent's Tenets inevitably become the hobby norm.

This is beyond depressing, and further demonstrates that it truly is only about money. :(

It's going to be very very difficult to prove.....so sad and agree this is beyond depressing.....it's a business/industry...............not a HOBBY.
Has not been a hobby for many for years.......sad but we all have known this for years...The Industry is the Wild Wild West filled with whatever kinda business you wanna call it.....thinking any differently has been proven to be naive.

This board has a riot mentality. I am kind of surprised that one random comment can spur this much excitement without any facts. Unless I am missing something - is nimble tortoise a reputable source?

We should probably hold off on judging until there are concrete facts.

I agree with you. Plus he wrote "according to hobby scuttlebutt," so it's only a rumor.

Hobby Scuttlebutt is a great user id for this or any related board.

It's been widely speculated and extensively discussed elsewhere.

I'm sure we will get an answer soon...

I'm no lawyer, but wouldn't Brent have to get charged first? If he hasn't been charged with any crime yet, then why would he hire a criminal lawyer?

Incognito mode is your friend.

I'm I the only one on this board that places a lot of fault on PSA in regards to all this mess???

Not Criminal....Making a Lot of Mistakes by not catching Obvious Alterations which according to their grading requirements are not supposed to get a number grade in holder.

What is PSA's purpose in the industry ????

If he is taking this long I hope he is hitting the preview button so he doesn't lose his reply and have to start over.:)

lol

All I care about is if there are gift baskets or not.

For the right gift basket i could be all for card restoration as the new thing.;):D

I hate to do anything that might stop endless speculation and attacks, but I figured I should post anyway. Yes, I'm representing Brent in this investigation and yes, this is after I bashed him for years on Net 54. And no, I'm not suggesting that I'm representing him because every person deserves assistance of counsel in all criminal cases and investigations as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, even though they do. No, I'm not doing it for the money (my baseball card hobby-related income is about 1% of my total income over the last ten years).

I have represented dozens of people in the hobby, some civilly and some in connection with criminal cases and investigations. I represented numerous witnesses against Mastro and Allen, et al. and against others accused of fraud. In each and every representation I have cooperated the client with FBI, helped them in their prosecutions against others and assisted them in non-public ways. Since I began representing Brent, he has been cooperating with the FBI, has reached out to people who purchased altered cards from PWCC and refunded money, and is providing all documentation from his dealings with any and all hobby dealers/consignors. Unlike in Mastro where those defendants destroyed records, "cooperated" minimally and refused to pay back a single dollar of restitution to their victims, I'm actually accomplishing more with Brent to assist the government in getting victims paid back and to stop the fraud. This is why I decided to take the case, after consulting with the FBI. In addition, Brent (and other dealers) have agreed to put money into a restitution fund to refund money to people who purchased altered cards years ago, well past the statute of limitations time period, even though they are not required to do so by law. As a collector, I am less concerned with why clients decide to assist the government than with the actual impact of their cooperation. And yes, I have represented people who have cooperated with the government in connection with the hobby and still have gone to prison.

If anyone doubts that what I am doing with Brent and other hobbyists who I have represented is a net positive, I'd invite you to call the FBI agent who has run all of these cases and investigations and ask him if he is happy that I am representing Brent. And if it's good enough for the FBI agent who is helping to prosecute these cases, I'd hope that it would be good enough for you. If not, it won't be the first time someone was unhappy with who I am representing. But helping to put Mastro et al. in jail didn't accomplish enough to stop fraud and make fraud victims whole; in this way, at least something positive is being done.

Seems Improbable
 

That Attorney Lichtman would hitch his wagon to Brentsie and Betsie. He has demonstrated, over the years, that he is a serious collector with nice "Stuff". He could well be a victim of the antics PWCC is being accused of. Even if he was approached by those two I believe that every attorney has the option of saying "No Thanks"......or in this case "Your joking ...right?" I will ad that the only contact I have ever had with him was visiting his Gallery....Nice "Stuff".
While every defendant is entitled to a competent representation I will be shocked and dismayed if a notable board member fills that role.
Dennis O'Brien in Wisconsin

Thank You ....
 

To the OP for letting every board member get wind of this. They want me to remove my ad blocker to read the article. But I can see a nice photo shot of one of the up and coming hobby participants. Sad it is that that young man is facing this kind of "Welcome to the hobby" message. How can I read the full piece?

By removing your ad blocker?

Interesting.

Would you be able to shed light on the other dealers contributing to this fund and whether PSA has been helpful in the investigation?

From what I’ve seen thus far, all the dealers who consigned altered cards are paying back buyers through PWCC. If there is any dispute as to whether a card deserves a refund, Brent is paying the money back himself. As for PSA, they are not being as helpful.

How far back and to what degree have buyers been notified? For example, if Dealer X (who has been discovered as a potential card doctor) has consigned 5,000 cards since 2012 through PWCC, have the buyers for all 5,000 cards been notified? Or is it above a threshold? I'm mostly just curious how this has been decided.

^^This^^ and what is happening with all these altered cards?

Then what is being done about Gary Moser? It appears that majority of the outed cards on BO were worked on by him.

I’m driving and don’t have the info at hand re how far back. As for the retuned, altered cards they are being given to the FBI. Obviously my concern was the cards being put into A holders, cracked out and resubmitted. And PSA giving them grades of 11.

Hole punch and then put into a Authentic slab.:)

Not living up to the “PSA guarantee”? Shocking.

Nice deflection, counselor!

Sorry I’m driving in a blinding thunderstorm in NY. And I don’t work for you. I’m ok not to provide any more info on these issues too if you think it’s not helpful.

Then get off you damn phone and pay attention to the road.

It's really sad.... I guess when you're paying for a OPINION that OPINION is subjective and can't tied to any laws or held accountable...
their silence in taking any kinda of responsibility hits home to me :-(

Drive safely. When you have a moment, I am curious as to how far back and to what extent victims are being notified.

On a side note, is PSA requesting possession of the cards in exchange for reimbursement? I'd imagine that would be a significant sticking point for them. Some of these cards still have significant value (for obvious reasons) as a PSA Authentic.

Also, have you had any dealings with SGC so far? How helpful have they been?

Kudos to you for commenting.

Buyers are being notified by email and phone. The first round of buyers are those who bought clearly altered cards, i.e. trimming and recoloring. The more grey stuff (cleaning, pressed corners) is being mostly put on the back burner for now except in egregious cases. This is all a fluid situation subject to my discussions with the government. It’s not a perfect situation but it’s more perfect than anything that has ever occurred previously in fraud cases in the hobby.

If I understand this correctly, only buyers of publicly outed cards are being notified?

No.

I’ve been saying since Day One, that PSA is the far greater evil in all of this. Their ineptitude (or whatever else is revealed) is much further reaching and enduring than PWCC. Not surprised, but very sad to hear further confirmation of their lack of remorse and failure to cooperate. I guess they really think this will all magically just go away.

Regardless... thanks to Jeff for coming on to explain and clarify. The fact that PWCC has acknowledged the alterations and misrepresentations is a good start. So are the refunds (which I have a hunch are due to some sound legal counsel). Hopefully this case can transpire in such a way that tenets and conservation never become the new “norm”. It will be an interesting next few months.

Will give credit to Jeff for responding here...he certainly didn't need to, nor need to respond to any of the follow up questions so far.

Hopefully he will answer this one just for fun:

Are you representing Moser as well or do you intend to if asked?...or have the H's totally separated themselves from him?

Who is responsible for providing information on whether a card has been altered (or conserved)?

Back to my original scenario, if Dealer X consigned 5,000 since 2012 through PWCC and has now been "outed" as a potential card doctor. What is the process for notifying victims? How many are notified?

Maybe 100 of the 5,000 cards have been publicly outed. What is the process? Do you start with the publicly outed "clearly altered cards" then politely ask Dealer X if any others were "clearly altered?" Is it a threshold?

I'm not trying to criticize the process, again, I'm just curious.

Agree Sir. I'm also very thankful for Jeffrey's response. Class Act

Its Brent's hope that this PREVENTS him from being charged, hence all the cooperation and restitution. Question is will all this cooperation prevent Brent from going to jail which is where Jeff has previously said he belongs?

Remember what Michael Corleone said. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Why wouldn't or shouldn't he reply? He's being paid by Brent to do damage control!

Every card that an 'outed' dealer/consignor has provided to PWCC is not a bad card. Some cards were cracked out and resubmitted; some had a corner pressed down. Not every card in a submission is bad when there is 1, 2 or even 10 bad ones in a submission.

As to who is providing info on bad cards, keep in mind that I don't represent every person who consigned to PWCC. With the government's help, with the help of the Blowout guys who did incredible work here, we're able to determine some of the bad cards. The government has sources who have provided them info about cards, some of that is shared with us and a discussion is had. I can tell you that we are erring on the side of giving refunds back. This is a fluid situation as I have said. It is not a perfect situation by any means, but it's a start.


Michael, this decision isn't up to me. I took the case primarily to accomplish something more for buyers harmed than what had previously occurred in other hobby cases. As for my opinions on the people involved, whatever I said I believed but was before significant assistance has been provided to the government. But punishment is not my decision.

I'll speak more about this as time goes on and I'm willing to be contacted with any bad cards that need to be refunded.

One note is that everyone deserves a good defense attorney no matter who they are-- even El Chapo and Jeffrey Dahmer. Saying otherwise is to say all charges are always correct, one side gets lawyers and the other does not, and we can/should determine guilt even before a trial. Everyone also deserves a competent physician when sick or injured-- including those who, unlike Brent, actually have been convicted and are in prison.

If Jeffrey L., or any other defense lawyer, serves as a lawyer for PWCC, El Chapo, Charles Manson or Bernie Madoff, there is absolutely nothing wrong about that.

And, no, I'm not equating PWCC with Jeffrey Dahmer and Charles Mason :)

.......
 

After all that bashing time after time and now you’re representing him? Am I in the twilight zone?!?!?. 🤦*♂️

I am a tax guy. Lets say someone brings in their paperwork/records to get their taxes done. It is my job to get it right - by the law. If what the client brings me looks suspect or fraudulent, I explain to the client the situation, why I think it may not be correct, the ramifications, and offer to help get it right ... or show them the door. There is no leeway. The IRS can fine me, even revoke my license, if found I fraudulently did a return.

That said, the analogy is PSA is me, the preparer. If PSA lets loose a fraudulent card, they are to blame. They are the professionals who do this for a living. There should be legal consequence for PSA. PSA should be held more accountable than any other entity in this whole mess.

Right or wrong - my 2 cents.

Actually, Brent is unaware that I'm even posting here today. I don't have to provide a single iota of information to the people here -- Brent's issues are with the government first and foremost. I'm posting because I think it's the right thing to do and I'd like to clean up as much of this mess as possible and provide some clarity. I've helped the feds on any number of hobby fraud cases and will continue to do so. I've successfully sued Mastro and Allen and collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from them and their co-conspirators whereas the government collected $0 in restitution from them. I'm hardly coming on here and spinning some bullshit to help Brent out.

Though it is kind of funny if Brent said "Uh oh. I'm in such big trouble that I'd better get El Chapo's lawyer."

Though, obviously, Jeffrey has knowledge of this particular hobby, which it seems is what one would want for a lawyer on either side. You don't want to hire a lawyer who collects beanie babies or funky earrings-- totally different law. I'm sure Brent has also gone into this knowing that Jeffrey is a dog person ("Betsy, we can't chance it. Hide the cat! Oh, shoot, the closet's full. Call it Fido and maybe he won't notice.")

I agree that the Blowout guys are doing great work - they're identifying victims. What steps is Brent taking to identifying additional victims?

Jeff, I for one am glad that Brent got a lawyer that knows the baseball card hobby. You are in a unique position to really help get this done right. Or at least as right as it's going to get. I hope you'll keep posting to let us all know what's going on, and I know you are trying to help out the collectors as much as possible.

I guess (not that Jeff can be expected to answer) my big question is whether or not PWCC is still trying to portray themselves as innocent victims of the card doctoring "community" or are they being upfront about the fact that they were in cahoots with them.

Something Positive to Post....I'm thankful and blessed to be a member of this board :-)
Thanks to Jeff...BO...Peter and many others whom post on here with substantive beneficial information to the benefit of all :-)

Completely agree, and it's been going on since their inception.

Hopefully the Government will view it this way as well. ;)

I second in full %100 agreement

It should be obvious based on my posts what our position is I'd hope.

I recently befriended a neighborhood cat named Hobo and am pretty into him. We meet at night and in the morning during dog walks.

And as you guessed, I'm not exactly in need of baseball hobby cases with the stuff I'm doing now. But I'd rather deal with this stuff from the inside than to be on the outside, screaming my head off and not accomplishing anything.

PSA is worse than useless. Greedy, arrogant and inept are the politer terms I can use to describe them. But there are too many people with too much money at risk for PSA to be put out of business by anything short of a criminal conviction, and they know it, so they will never step up and do the right thing for the consumers who relied on their skills and guarantee because they don't have to. They're the Juggernaut, bitches!

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ut%20bitch.gif

I think I'll pass on the PSA slabs next week...sure gonna make my carry-on lighter going home from the show.

That is funny. We actually did that about 30 years ago. A friend had to stay with his brother for a while. The brother hated cats so we called the cat Spot and trained him to fetch.

I'm a dog person, but pet cats I meet on my walk home. Stay away from the raccoons.

Reading between the lines here Jeff, looks like a wedge is forthcoming between PSA and PWCC, with you being the hammer. Can we assume that PSA's warranty is worth sh**, or they told PWCC to pound sand since PWCC is now refunding buyers?

I would think part of your long term strategy is eventually recovering funds from the source of encapsulating altered cards, PSA.

What is going on at NEWPORT BEACH ?

THEIR SILENCE IS DEAFENING :-(

My question wasn't about YOUR position. I also didn't expect an answer from you simply because of attorney client privilege, not because I thought you'd be evasive.