Subpoenas???

[trsent]

Do the Feds think they can convict an auction house such as Mastro for selling item they know are not genuine? Won't they have to prove they knew of issues with the item or accepted a bad item or altered an item? I know they also brought up shill bidding, but won't the Feds have to prove Mastro knowingly did something wrong?

At the same time, if the Feds were looking for a company who has openly has bought "game issued" items and sold them as game used, isn't there an auction house out there that would fit this description and would be easily prey for them? Maybe an auction house that has a history buying on eBay and then altering an item to make it better or even game used for sale?

I know, Mr. Okeeffe has his lists who he doesn't like in our industry, but I think Mastro may be the wrong target if the Feds want to make a point there are better subjects.

[jdr3]

Joel,

It appears from your post that perhaps you are not familiar with the Mastro controversy from last August. If you had read the article Eric had added just a few posts before yours, you would have a better understanding of the situation. Here is an excerpt:

To prepare for the live auction, Mastro employees sent the shirt and other items to Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services, one of the hobby's leading authentication services. MEARS examined the shirt on July 1, and concluded that while it appeared to be a North Carolina shooting shirt from the 1980s, it did not belong to Jordan.

When the shirt was placed over a light table, it was apparent that another name had been removed from the back and replaced with "JORDAN." The letters also seemed to be made of different materials than other patches on the piece, according to the MEARS work sheet.

"The Michael Jordan shirt we evaluated did not start its life as a Michael Jordan shirt," MEARS authenticator Troy Kinunen said.

MEARS' opinion was seconded by the University of North Carolina; officials there told the Daily News that Jordan still has his warm-up shirt.

So here we have conclusive proof that Mastro did know that what they were selling was not what it was purported to be, which answers your first question, that the FBI DOES KNOW Mastro had fore knowledge that one of their items had been altered and still tried to cover this up and sell the jersey in question for $11,000. If defrauding someone out of that much money is not a crime, I don't know what is.

You mention that there are others the FBI should be going after. Can you name them, or have you tried to help fellow collectors by alerting the FBI to this situation?

-Jim Reed

[allstarsplus]

Jim - You should be commended for the work and assistance you provided to bring this Jordan jersey issue to the Forum and possibly to a Court of Law!

You may have also read this week that the FBI solved the Anthrax case (almost 7 years later) so as they say, the FBI always gets their man.

Just the rumors of subpoenas should scare some people straight.

You have to love that the USPS was in tow as that interstate shipment case is much easier to prove.

Does anyone know if "LL" got a subpoena?

I spoke to my friend Bill Huggins of Huggins & Scott Auctions last night and he wasn't even aware that the FBI was at The National, and as I told him that doesn't surprise me as he is as honest as they come so they wouldn't be knocking on his door. As Bill is growing his game used side of the auction house, he is doing it the right way.

Here is my observation and opinions on 2 other auction houses that used to be mentioned here all the time in our "Hall of SHAMe". I think in recent years thanks to getting continually outed on this Forum they have slowly cleaned up their act, but the Feds can go back 3 years with the statute of limitations so they can spend hours, weeks and months using the Forum as a resource. Rudy's red circles make great fieldwork!

About a year and 1/2 ago I had a discussion about a Florida auction house with Federal Prosecutor Jay Trezevant. I wonder if that Florida auction house is part of a larger investigation that was being built against many in the industry.

You have to love this quote

"The FBI has been walking the convention floor," said American Memorabilia president Victor Moreno. "You can feel the tension."

[trsent]

Joel,

It appears from your post that perhaps you are not familiar with the Mastro controversy from last August. If you had read the article Eric had added just a few posts before yours, you would have a better understanding of the situation. Here is an excerpt:

To prepare for the live auction, Mastro employees sent the shirt and other items to Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services, one of the hobby's leading authentication services. MEARS examined the shirt on July 1, and concluded that while it appeared to be a North Carolina shooting shirt from the 1980s, it did not belong to Jordan.

When the shirt was placed over a light table, it was apparent that another name had been removed from the back and replaced with "JORDAN." The letters also seemed to be made of different materials than other patches on the piece, according to the MEARS work sheet.

"The Michael Jordan shirt we evaluated did not start its life as a Michael Jordan shirt," MEARS authenticator Troy Kinunen said.

MEARS' opinion was seconded by the University of North Carolina; officials there told the Daily News that Jordan still has his warm-up shirt.

So here we have conclusive proof that Mastro did know that what they were selling was not what it was purported to be, which answers your first question, that the FBI DOES KNOW Mastro had fore knowledge that one of their items had been altered and still tried to cover this up and sell the jersey in question for $11,000. If defrauding someone out of that much money is not a crime, I don't know what is.

You mention that there are others the FBI should be going after. Can you name them, or have you tried to help fellow collectors by alerting the FBI to this situation?

-Jim Reed

Jim, please do not assume what I have or have not read. I am sorry I missed what you have brought to my attention. Your comments did remind me of an Atlanta Braves jersey I questioned Mastro about and was told that since I was not a registered bidder they would not answer my questions about this item that I couldn't style match. I believe there is a thread about this jersey I questioned somewhere on this forum.

I am sorry if I missed obvious facts that you have cleared up.

If I wanted to name any company I would have named them. If you look over the history of this discussion forum, a name may be clear to you.

[Eric]

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...nal-crowd.html

[David]

Subpoenas are often given to witnesses and innocent people with info-- so being subpoenaed doesn't automatically mean a person did anything wrong.

[Eric]

According to people at the national, the feds talked to all the major auction houses, authentication companies and many others...

[Eric]

Feds swarm to question card sharks

BY MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Saturday, August 2nd 2008, 10:15 PM

The same day Mastro Auctions sold a rare 1909 Honus Wagner card for $1.62 million at a sale held in conjunction with the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Ill., federal agents investigating fraud in sports collectibles questioned employees of Professional Sports Authenticator, the hobby's top card grading service.

Also on Friday, investigators from the FBI and the United States Postal Service interviewed a former Mastro Auctions employee who is known to be a "card doctor," somebody who fixes dog-eared corners, removes stains, flattens out creases or takes other steps to improve the appearance of trading cards. Most collectors and dealers consider it unethical to alter cards.

"They spent a lot of time at the PSA booth," one sports memorabilia executive said.

Federal agents spent several hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the National, sports memorabilia's largest annual convention, issuing subpoenas to appear before a grand jury investigating fraud in the memorabilia business.

The agents' appearance at the show is part of an investigation into sports memorabilia fraud initiated last year by the Chicago division of the FBI, whose "Operation Foul Ball" smashed a multistate autograph forgery ring during the 1990s. The target of the investigation appears to be Illinois-based Mastro Auctions, sports memorabilia's largest auction house, although other businesses and individuals may also be involved.

The source said Bill Mastro, the company's chairman, looked cool and collected during the auction, held this year at the Chicago ESPNZone. "But (Mastro president Doug Allen) looked awful," the executive added. "I think all this is getting to him."

Allen and Mastro could not be reached for comment Saturday. Neither could Joe Orlando, president of PSA.

The fact that PSA officials and the former Mastro employee were interviewed by agents indicates that investigators are also interested in learning about "card doctoring."

Cards that have been trimmed, colored or repaired are tainted and worth considerably less than cards that have not been altered. The difference in the value of cards that have been altered and the same card that has not been doctored can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

PSA was formed in 1991 to protect collectors from card doctors, counterfeiters and other cheats. But the company has been a lightning rod for controversy. Collectors and dealers say PSA inflates grades for cards submitted by big-volume customers such as Mastro Auctions.

The first card the company graded - another 1909 Wagner, at the time owned by NHL great Wayne Gretzky - had been cut from a sheet and later doctored, according to "The Card," a book by two Daily News reporters. The Wagner, which PSA graded an 8 (on a scale of 1-10) sold for a record $2.8 million last year, even though a former PSA authenticator has said the company knew the card had been doctored.

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

[cohibasmoker]

Do the Feds think they can convict an auction house such as Mastro for selling item they know are not genuine? Won't they have to prove they knew of issues with the item or accepted a bad item or altered an item? I know they also brought up shill bidding, but won't the Feds have to prove Mastro knowingly did something wrong?

At the same time, if the Feds were looking for a company who has openly has bought "game issued" items and sold them as game used, isn't there an auction house out there that would fit this description and would be easily prey for them? Maybe an auction house that has a history buying on eBay and then altering an item to make it better or even game used for sale?

I know, Mr. Okeeffe has his lists who he doesn't like in our industry, but I think Mastro may be the wrong target if the Feds want to make a point there are better subjects.

Joel, At this point, I don't think we can assume anything let alone assume there is just one target. We do not even know if the papers being served at the National are in fact subpoenas or a “target letter”. Has anyone actually seen any of the documents? We all have questions about the investigation and I am sure that all of our questions will be answered in the very near future.

With that said, I am sure the FBI is pretty far along in their investigation. Whatever the FBI is handing out on the National floor, either subpoenas or “target letters”, either of these documents may be an additional avenue to broaden their investigation or to simply dot their "I's" and cross their "t's".

However, if you have some additional information that may be helpful in the investigation, I am sure the door at the FBI is open and they would be more than happy to hear from you.

Jim