[Snowman]

Originally Posted by BobC

Great points!

Doctoring or altering a card you own is in no way, shape, or form a crime in and of itself. And neither is submitting such an altered card to a TPG for grading. And the TPGs only give their "opinions" on graded cards, and among all of them have no consistent, standardized, and agreed upon grading standards. And supposedly they don't disclose exact reasons for given grades to submitters, nor keep grader's notes and records. If ever hauled into court, there is no detail to point to, and given the volume of cards they grade, they can honestly say they most likely can't remember any one specific card.

A card doctor submitting altered cards to TPGs and getting them passed and into numerically graded slabs is akin to a form of legalized money laundering. It's almost a perfect, what should illegal, business. Kind of reminds me of an old saying by an anonymous hooker, "You got it, you sell it, you still got it. What a business!!!"

I would take it even one step further though. I think someone could openly admit to each step you mention in a court of law and they still wouldn't be prosecuted for any crimes. It's not just that it's difficult to prove. It's also that it's simply not a crime regardless of how much some would like it to be.