Subpoenas issued to dealers with ties to Grey Flannel Auctions

[Phil316]

all I can say is it is about time GF got looked into. This has been long overdue. Every auction they hold has forged items. You mention it to them and they always have an excuse to keep the auction running.

[BU54CB]

Interesting, surprised there's not more comments on this.

[PAC]

Interesting, surprised there's not more comments on this.

Ignorance is bliss. Lots of members with thousands of dollars worth of GF merchandise in the closet who would prefer this thread just go unnoticed.

[BU54CB]

Ignorance is bliss. Lots of members with thousands of dollars worth of GF merchandise in the closet who would prefer this thread just go unnoticed.

I had the same thought, unfortunately another potential black eye for the memorabilia hobby.

I watched their show and never liked their attitude toward the hobby, and was amazed by their nonchalance when they handled the items they were sent.

[slats7]

It's about time somebody investigated those crooks. I warned them not to sell this jersey as an authentic Don Meredith (in reality it was a jersey from the early 1970s), but they ignored me and ripped off some poor sucker to the tune of $11K. Disgraceful.

http://catalog.greyflannelauctions.com/lot-23578.aspx

[Phil316]

Ignorance is bliss. Lots of members with thousands of dollars worth of GF merchandise in the closet who would prefer this thread just go unnoticed.

Exactly right.

[Chess2899]

I think you will see closer scrutiny of specific auction houses.
There are a couple bomb shells pending.

[danesei@yahoo.com]

I think a big part of the problem is GF and JSA being connected at the hip due to the GF tv show. I wonder if Spence will also get investigated now.

[ChrisCavalier]

Okay, please help me understand something. I think the initial post on this thread was based on factual information from an article published by the New York Daily News. However, I did not see anything in the article that states Grey Flannel has already been found guilty of anything. Please correct me if I am wrong. In fact, I see the article as stating (bold added for emphasis):

"The prosecutors leading the investigation want to determine if the Westhampton auction house had sold fraudulent sports jerseys to unsuspecting collectors, the sources told the Daily News. The subpoenaed records may show that Grey Flannel officials inflated the historical significance and monetary value of jerseys they obtained from the dealers.

"I think it is safe to say that they are looking at Grey Flannel," said an attorney for one dealer who requested anonymity to protect his client's identity.

A spokesman for the United States Attorney in Chicago declined to comment. Grey Flannel president Richard Russek did not return calls for comment."

Please note that, over the years, I have done almost no business with Grey Flannel so I have no dog in this race. However, we do have a forum rule which states (again, bold added for emphasis):

In instances where a forum member is identifying an item in the hobby they believe to have issues, the poster should clearly state their findings in the form of an opinion and provide adequate rationale for why they believe there is an issue. When possible, we recommend that the poster questioning an item attempt to contact the seller of the item and allow at least 24 hours for the seller to reply before posting. This will prevent postings that may be generated based on misunderstandings of an item. In addition, while this forum is designed to help educate collectors, we will not allow comments that accuse entities in the hobby of participating in any form of criminal wrong-doing. Any posts suggesting criminal wrong-doing should be brought to the attention of the moderators immediately.

Please help me understand if I am reading this article correctly. If I am, I do not see anything that states Grey Flannel has already been found guilty of anything. Again, I am not saying they will or will not be found guilty in the future. I am simply interested in making sure the forum rules are followed in regards to people posting here.

Please let me know if I am missing something.

-Chris

[allstarsplus]

I think a big part of the problem is GF and JSA being connected at the hip due to the GF tv show. I wonder if Spence will also get investigated now.

I hope not. JSA has always been clean in my book.