6 charged with fraud

[xpress34]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

From JO's 'About Us' page:

About J.O. Sports Co LLC

J.O. Sports Co LLC was established in 2003 and launched its online website in 2008.

Among the many facets of game used memorabilia, J.O. Sports Co LLC specializes in NFL team and player deals. Our business model focuses on bringing legitimate game used merchandise to the collecting community.

We are honored to help bring integrity and honesty to the industry by offering authentic game used and autographed memorabilia to collectors. We have built a model that benefits the teams, the players and the fans. Our direct relationship with the teams and players sets us apart from other game used dealers and we will continue to stay focused on being a legitimate source for all of your game used needs.

With the ever-growing need for collectors to find legitimate sources of game used and autographed memorabilia, J.O. Sports Co LLC is proud to establish itself as an industry leader.

did jo sports take a plea agreement? The article implies they may have? If you take a plea your as good as guilty.

The four charged by information with mail fraud, indicating they may have already reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, were:

BERNARD GERNAY, a resident of New Jersey, involved in the business operations of Pro Sports Investments, Inc., a New Jersey business;

BRADLEY HORNE, a South Carolina resident, involved in the business operations of Authentic Sports Memorabilia, Inc., a South Carolina business;

JARROD OLDRIDGE, a resident of Nevada, involved in business operations of JO Sports, Inc., a Nevada business; and,

MITCHELL SCHUMACHER, a resident of Wisconsin, using the trade name MS Sports.

Interesting to note:

From a law blog...

"An information is generally used when a defendant, or potential defendant, agrees that there is enough evidence to proceed with the case, thereby compelling said defendant to appear in court and enter a plea to the information, i.e. charges contained therein, just like an indictment. In agreeing to be prosecuted on an information you are waiving your right to have the case presented to a grand jury.

The advantages are that you are cooperating with the prosecutor in not making them do more work than they want to. It also can serve to keep your case a little quieter. Most courts don't publicize the filing of informations unless someone notifies the media.

The advantages to the prosecutor are many. As pointed out he/she doesn't have to prepare the case for grand jury presentation. He/she doesn't risk the failure of a bill being handed up. He/she relies on you to show up in court as promised. He/she uses the fact that you have admitted that there is evidence to prosecute as leverage to gain a favorable plea."

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... in this industry/hobby, all you have ultimately is your reputation. Once it's tarnished, you can't just 'buff' it back up...

[ivo610]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

odds this is tied to the arrest at National?

[BostonSportsFan]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I called Jarrod to see exactly what was going on regarding the article. He was busy but I was told that a JO Sports would be issuing a press release shortly on the matter.

I am guessing the release will address any questions for the members on the forum.

Hope that helps,
Chris

Chris

Can you please provide any updates on when your business associate/partner Jarrod is planning to actually issue this press release? Shortly does not seem to compute with his understanding of that term vs. what others would understand it to mean. Perhaps Jarrod could not come to the phone when you called as he was busy packing up to head out of the country to some location that does not offer extradition back to the USA???

I have it on very good authority from a source on the inside of this investigation that the Feds have invoices of retail jersey's that were purchased by JO that they claim can be followed to a bulk sale to the Panini Card Company. Panini bought hundreds of jersey's from JO with legitimate jerseys mixed in with the purported fakes. This is part of the legal case at hand. I am sure if the Feds find Matt who disappeared from JO employment that he probably saw what was going on. I can't remember the name of Jarrod's other helper at the time who also has left the company.

Who really cares about some slick PR statement that will prove nothing. What exactly would it say. I think Legal mentioned that it is just going to be basic crap as nothing in a pending legal investigation is going to prompt the accused to say anything beyond basic Vanilla garbage in a PR statement.

Let Brad Wells and Mitchell and all the other cockroaches scatter. The lights are on.

Skubebats nailed it by the way. I am glad people are stepping up. Take your hard earned money and give it to charity instead of foolishly lining this man's pockets.

By the way, where exactly is Mr. Bible verse Bernie Gernay?? I know he used to post on here all the time quoting all his Bible verses. I wonder what he has to say now that he has the FEDS breathing down his neck.

Joe

[joelsabi]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

odds this is tied to the arrest at National?

unrelated. arrest at national was steve jensen

[Lokee]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

New article and follow-up from Sports Collectors Daily

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/fbi-agent-large-numbers-of-jerseys-or-jersey-pieces-in-evidence/

[cubbs1232]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I dont understand how people are sticking up for jo or anyother involved in these cases. The feds tend not to bring bs cases to court and 4 of the 6 basically pleaded guilty,if im reading the charges right. Who cares if it was one jersey, which I highly doubt, or thousands of jerseys youre still a crook who further damaged this hobby and broke the law.

Say jo did this before he landed the nfl contracts, what would he be doing if he didnt get those? Probably still making fakes. Thats what scumbags do.

Theres 2 types of people I can't stand thieves and liers, and in my eyes, jo and the others are both.

Regards,
Korey

[Jeffredsfan]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Say it ain't so, JO.

[freddiefreeman5]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I dont understand how people are sticking up for jo or anyother involved in these cases.

Regards,
Korey

It could be the same reason people stick up for the roiders in baseball, their collections.

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Chris

Can you please provide any updates on when your business associate/partner Jarrod is planning to actually issue this press release? Shortly does not seem to compute with his understanding of that term vs. what others would understand it to mean. Perhaps Jarrod could not come to the phone when you called as he was busy packing up to head out of the country to some location that does not offer extradition back to the USA???


Who really cares about some slick PR statement that will prove nothing. What exactly would it say. I think Legal mentioned that it is just going to be basic crap as nothing in a pending legal investigation is going to prompt the accused to say anything beyond basic Vanilla garbage in a PR statement.

Let Brad Wells and Mitchell and all the other cockroaches scatter. The lights are on.

Skubebats nailed it by the way. I am glad people are stepping up. Take your hard earned money and give it to charity instead of foolishly lining this man's pockets.

By the way, where exactly is Mr. Bible verse Bernie Gernay?? I know he used to post on here all the time quoting all his Bible verses. I wonder what he has to say now that he has the FEDS breathing down his neck.

Joe

I don't know Chris but I think it is unfair to bring his prior relationships with JO up at this point. I am sure Chris and his team will cut all ties with JO. If you live long enough you will inevitably come in contact with people who go to the dark side. I don't even want to hear that he changed his ways and this happened before his NFL contracts. As Lokee wrote, improprieties are still occurring.

Also perfectly said by Freddie in Post #101.

I just wish Victor Moreno, Lou Lampson, Coaches Corner and Bricol all got honorable mentions in the SCD article.

[SkubeBats]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Schumacher (masauction) is still selling at this time on EBAY. Wouldn't you think he would stop selling after this.

Next you'll see JO Sports back on here selling their stuff. Their website is still up and running and their still selling items.

How many times or how much trouble do these guys need to get into before they leave our hobby for good.

I wonder what will happen when the NFL finds out about this. Will JO still be able to buy from the teams like they have been able to???

Enough is enough stop standing up for these idiots. All their doing is giving our hobby a bad name.

GUU do your part and cut ties with these clowns!!

I bet this is the start of things to come. What other companies, authenticators, and people will be busted next??

[legaleagle92481]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I think some posters are confusing the issue here. This issue is not if YOUR jerseys are real or that you had a good experience dealing with JO. What these people did is the equivalent of an investment guy running a Ponzi scheme or an autograph guy forging autographs. Bernie Madoff was a brilliant man who made a fortune in the investment business but yet still ran the world's largest ponzi scheme. Stans Sports was a highly successful autograph business that sold many, many legitimate autographs but still chose to get into the forgery business. Merely because someone is successful does not make them immune to doing illegal things to make more money. If Madoff was to get released from jail and start another investment firm would you invest with him? If Stans started selling autographs again would you buy from them? Or put another way would you buy an autograph with a Stans COA on the secondary market? Even if the signature looked good to you? I sure wouldn't because you can never be 100% certain photomatches are great but and I am maybe an overly skeptical person if the match is too a specific grass stain or dirt mark who is to say they didn't doctor the jersey to create the match? They have the same access to photos as everyone else. Also most of us will not have collections that pass down throughout the generations and at some point us or our heirs will sell our stuff. If the JO name is associated with fake stuff even if they completely cleaned up their act when they started becoming successful that is likely to make many potential buyers steer clear of the item or want to pay less for it than they would have before this came out. So we as collectors are the ultimate losers as our items and even if we don't want to think of it that way but our investments are greatly devalued. The fact that the teams and some players sell stuff to them does not mean a thing. Brad Wells another defendant ran ASI and if you recall ASI used to tout their exclusive player relationships for autographs and game used stuff with Pudge, Arod, Sosa, Manny and several other major stars. The teams and players only see green and will sell to anyone who offers them a good deal in many cases. I doubt any of these teams took the time to investigate JO's background in anyway. However, my guess is since the only thing teams worry about more than money is bad publicity when they find out if they have not already they will do damage control and immediately sever their relationships with him.

[BarryMeisel]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Hello everybody,
While MeiGray was saddened to learn of yesterday’s news out of Rockland, Illinois regarding the indictment of six game-worn jersey dealers, we applaud the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its four-year investigation into fraud in the sports memorabilia industry, especially now that the investigation has focused on game-worn jerseys.
Since our inception in 1997, MeiGray has been committed to absolute authenticity. As Official Authenticators for the NHL since 2002 and the NBA since 2006, we have worked tirelessly with these leagues and their teams to ensure that collectors get exactly what they pay for.
We reaffirm our commitment to doing so for each and every one of our clients. We invite you to learn more about MeiGray’s approach to Game-Worn Jersey Authentication and our MeiGrade Registration System by visiting our website and clicking on the MeiGray Authenticated link.
You’ll learn how we approach Authentication, how we determine an item is eligible for registration into our system, and why we can offer a 100% Lifetime Money Back Guarantee on every item we sell, authenticate and register, if the item is ever deemed not to be authentic.
It is not difficult for us to do this, because working with the leagues and teams, and relying on our authentication system and expertise, we know what’s real. We know how to prove a jersey is exactly what it is supposed to be.
And we are committed to standing behind that Guarantee … For Life.
Respectfully,

Barry Meisel
President and Chief Operating Officer
MeiGray Group, LLC

[ivo610]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

SCD should contact all the teams involved with JO and ask for comment about their relationship. Would be interesting to hear if they are as chummy as JO made them out to be.

[buckeyegamers]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Hello everybody,
While MeiGray was saddened to learn of yesterday’s news out of Rockland, Illinois regarding the indictment of six game-worn jersey dealers, we applaud the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its four-year investigation into fraud in the sports memorabilia industry, especially now that the investigation has focused on game-worn jerseys.
Since our inception in 1997, MeiGray has been committed to absolute authenticity. As Official Authenticators for the NHL since 2002 and the NBA since 2006, we have worked tirelessly with these leagues and their teams to ensure that collectors get exactly what they pay for.
We reaffirm our commitment to doing so for each and every one of our clients. We invite you to learn more about MeiGray’s approach to Game-Worn Jersey Authentication and our MeiGrade Registration System by visiting our website and clicking on the MeiGray Authenticated link.
You’ll learn how we approach Authentication, how we determine an item is eligible for registration into our system, and why we can offer a 100% Lifetime Money Back Guarantee on every item we sell, authenticate and register, if the item is ever deemed not to be authentic.
It is not difficult for us to do this, because working with the leagues and teams, and relying on our authentication system and expertise, we know what’s real. We know how to prove a jersey is exactly what it is supposed to be.
And we are committed to standing behind that Guarantee … For Life.
Respectfully,

Barry Meisel
President and Chief Operating Officer
MeiGray Group, LLC

Barry, I have bought several of your Giants and Eagles jerseys in the past. In light of these issues in the industry, any chance that you will be getting more into NFL jerseys in the future?

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Hello everybody,
While MeiGray was saddened to learn of yesterday’s news out of Rockland, Illinois regarding the indictment of six game-worn jersey dealers, we applaud the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its four-year investigation into fraud in the sports memorabilia industry, especially now that the investigation has focused on game-worn jerseys.
Since our inception in 1997, MeiGray has been committed to absolute authenticity. As Official Authenticators for the NHL since 2002 and the NBA since 2006, we have worked tirelessly with these leagues and their teams to ensure that collectors get exactly what they pay for.
We reaffirm our commitment to doing so for each and every one of our clients. We invite you to learn more about MeiGray’s approach to Game-Worn Jersey Authentication and our MeiGrade Registration System by visiting our website and clicking on the MeiGray Authenticated link.
You’ll learn how we approach Authentication, how we determine an item is eligible for registration into our system, and why we can offer a 100% Lifetime Money Back Guarantee on every item we sell, authenticate and register, if the item is ever deemed not to be authentic.
It is not difficult for us to do this, because working with the leagues and teams, and relying on our authentication system and expertise, we know what’s real. We know how to prove a jersey is exactly what it is supposed to be.
And we are committed to standing behind that Guarantee … For Life.
Respectfully,

Barry Meisel
President and Chief Operating Officer
MeiGray Group, LLC

Barry, I don't know you either and find your tone and message as an infommercial for your system. I don't see other dealers coming on and gloating and self-promoting.

There are dozens of honest dealers and many had to leave the hobby as the honorable approach costs money. Upper Deck Authenticated, MLB Authenticated are as good as it gets and thats why it costs more.

Unfortunately if you collect the Saints and Packers you don't find ironclad authenticity. It is difficult so you put your faith in JO only to find they are pond scum.

I live in Washington DC now and switching to baseball and MLB Authenticated only.