FBI at the National!
 

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...feds_hunt.html

Looks like Doug might have been well-served to have that Thursday night bellyache of his last through Friday night as well.

"Allen was issued a subpoena just before the start of his company's auction Friday night at the House of Blues in downtown Cleveland."

Seems like a bunch of subpoenas were issued, not just Doug's

NY Daily News has an O'Keeffe article this morning on investigations of most, if not all the major auction houses by the FBI and the presence of their agents at the National.

If this excerpt is to be believed, the focus is on memorabilia, not auction house bidding practices or (gasp) altered cards.

"An industry executive told the Daily News that the agents are gathering information about auction houses, dealers and authenticators who knowingly sell counterfeit jerseys, bogus game-used bats and other tainted memorabilia."

Peter, I suspect that a target of the federal criminal investigation -- Mastro, et al. -- would beg to differ.

It sounds like PSA ---but not MEARS---is being investigated about the authentication of counterfeit jersys and bogus game used bats. I wonder which bats they have in mind.

I think the FBI considers cards to be memorabilia...it also appears they issued subpoenas to auction houses for their bidding records too.

Dan I hope you are right, although at least judging by the list of names it appears they may have missed several that I personally would think might prove fertile ground.

The article says that "Other sports memorabilia businesses may also be targets of the two-year-old probe."

I'm guessing there is a lot more we're not reading about.

It would seem the Feds. have broadened the scope of their investigation to include the sale by auction houses of items of memorabilia that they either knew were counterfeit or had serious questions as to their authenticity.

I think the Government should spend their resources on .....Terrorists, Health Care..for US citizens only. Baseball Collectors is another waste of my Tax $$$$. CUT THE PORK .......I'm tired of BS from the US . There will be a new Civil WAR!!!!....... Get the economy back...........THANKS

So people should be able to lie and cheat to make money off unsuspecting buyers? Upholding the law is "pork"? Nice opinion.

Fraud is Fraud - on Wall Street or on Cardboard
 

We have the upmost respect for the FBI.

It is imperative that we cleanse the hobby of shill bidding, as well as those who are knowingly selling items that are not authentic and/or are altering cards

Whilst our mantra remains "trust no one double check everyone", we appreciate the efforts to close down and punish those break the law.

When we made a personal decision to sell a number of very significant items, the distinguished auction house whom we selected discovered four valuable items that were not as described. Three were acquired from auction houses that are currently being questioned by the FBI.

In each case, the auction house that represented our interest wrote to the organization from whom we purchased these items and each case we received a check back. Said payments totaled more than $15,000.

We should further note that we had kept the original bills of sale and each auction house sent us a check within 48 hours of receiving the note.

This a wonderful hobby. Today many of the items that we collect are worth thousands of dollars. It is reassuring to know the FBI, Post Office and a few
industry experts have the integrity, ethics and power to ensure that we (and other collectors) receive items which are authentic and have not been altered and/or stolen.

With all good wishes


Bruce Doskind
America's Toughest Want List

about time
 

i'm an hobby novice, but i suspected something was not right. see what the love of money will do! i wish we could just go back to the days when i bought packs just for the gum, but i did save the cards too.

Not mine. I hope they continue to investigate and prosecute the sellers or auctions houses that are committing fraud.

The key here is mail fraud, by the way. It's not just the FBI who was present in Cleveland.



Bill

I agree with Bruce that this hobby must be cleaned up, and while I am pessimistic it ever will happen, even with intervention by law enforcement, I am certain that as presently configured it won't happen as a result of self-policing or collector intervention. For the most part we (and I include myself) are sheep led to the slaughter by our addiction and wishful thinking.

Peter hit the nail on the head. Self-policing certainly can do no good when the very victims of fraud themselves are slobbering at the feet of those who have wronged them.

Well stated.
 

Agreed. How many people here placed bids at Friday Night's auction, even with all of the known issues with Mastro / Legendary? "Stuff trumps all" is a poor excuse.

why? It's the truth.

Hopefully most will eventually realize that integrity and honor means a whole heckuva lot more than who has the best or rarest pictures of dead former baseball players.

People who bid on Legendary items lack integrity and honor?

Jeff,

I think you and I could agree that we need more honor and integrity in this hobby, and not less of it. Those who stand on soapboxes, decrying such auctions and then bid on pieces of cardboard of dead former baseball players from them appears at best hypocritical. Perhaps, many who bid in such auctions do so unwittingly? For many in the know, I have noticed an uptick in them staying away, no matter how great this stuff is supposed to be.

J-

yes, I would agree that it would be hypocritical to slam the auction house and then bid anyway and more honor and integrity are always good things.

However, I have no problem with all the non-hypocritical people who chose to place bids.

I don't think it's hypocrisy so much as addiction. I think many of us would have a very difficult time going a month, or two months, or six months, without buying a card.

I have no idea what you're talking about! I can quit anytime I want to! I really can!

Guys, I'll say this for the 30th time: if I only bid in auctions in which I don't believe there is a good chance I'm being defrauded I'd be bidding in one auction a year. I've cut down on bidding in the past six months in auctions in which I believe fraud is rampant and have added very few cards to my collection, unfortunately. However, if I have any interest in expanding my collection at all, I occasionally still bid in these auctions.

All that being said, being critical of an auction house does not give that auction house the right to defraud the critic.

Get rid of the GREAT ONE that was supposed to fix our nation and maybe this may come about. More debt, and bad decisions, and now more of my friends and 2 more of my family to the butcher shop. I made it out once and that was it for me. We could go all day but I have said my piece. I PRAISE THE GOVENMENT FOR FINALLY GETTING THEM FRAUDS, MAYBE IT HITS TO CLOSE TO HOME FOR YOU

i get all shakey and start breaking out in a sweat and lose my nerve after about a week. God forbid a month or more. Maybe i can kick the habit if i went that long:d

Well said.