Gernay, Oldridge, Horne Plead Guilty

[both-teams-played-hard]

how is it unfair when he, a supposed expert, signs his name away on anything and everything for sake of making a buck..NO, he has not been charged or admitted to wrongdoings.... yet what he does for that buck, is done INTENTIONALLY for the sake of making that buck,, he KNOWS he has no clue whether that shirt(s) are authentic or not. my guess is he doesnt give a crap..just the buck he makes is all that matters

I understand your point. But it's damn difficult to judge someone's intentions.

[schubert1970]

how is it unfair when he, a supposed expert, signs his name away on anything and everything for sake of making a buck..NO, he has not been charged or admitted to wrongdoings.... yet what he does for that buck, is done INTENTIONALLY for the sake of making that buck,, he KNOWS he has no clue whether that shirt(s) are authentic or not. my guess is he doesnt give a crap..just the buck he makes is all that matters

Glad you understood the point I was trying to make.

[joelsabi]

In all fairness, Lampson offers a "letter of opinion" and has never been charged with a federal case. I don't know of any questions that Lampson has personally altered a piece or added wear. I think it is truly unfair to group Lou Lampson along with some admitted felons.

I am pretty certain that Lampson did have his letter of opinion on the ARod jersey that was mentioned in the arrest at the National this year. That was a federal case too. It is common knowledge that Lampson writes the LOA for Vintage Authentics,at least for many ARod jerseys. the 7.5 he gave that particular jersey is the same rating scale lampson used on previous LOAs for early ARod Mariner jerseys for Vintage Authentics. Other ratings given to ARod jerseys were 8. 8.5, and 9.5.

[b.heagy]

I wonder if another door will open on the game used bat cards and cut signatures that the card companies used..... will be interesting to see what else unfolds.

[sportscentury]

If I owned and planned to sell or trade a photomatched jersey that originated from one of the named dealers, I would just submit it to MeiGray for an independent photomatch evaluation/confirmation and photomatch LOA. If MeiGray confirmed the match, this would surely remove any concern a buyer might have about the jersey and/or its original LOA.

Just a thought.

[Eric]

Mitchell Schumacher has now pleaded guilty as well. That's 4 of the 6, leaving Inselberg and Wells

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...fraud-charges/

[Eric]

NY Daily News

Mitchell Schumacher pleads guilty to mail fraud Wednesday in Illinois federal court

Charge stems from a four-year investigation
BY Michael O’keeffe
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Originally Published: Thursday, November 24 2011, 2:00 AM
Updated: Thursday, November 24 2011, 2:00 AM

Mitchell Schumacher acknowledges that he purchased jerseys from retail outlets and altered them to increase the price.

Another sports memorabilia dealer accused of creating fake “game-used” jerseys that were then sold to trading card companies and collectors pleaded guilty to mail fraud Wednesday in Illinois federal court.

Mitchell Schumacher of MS Sports pleaded guilty to mail fraud, acknowledging that he purchased jerseys from retail outlets and other sources, and then altered them to make the appear they had been used by pro athletes in games, substantially increasing their value.

The charge stems from a four-year investigation conducted by the Chicago FBI and other federal agencies. Executives from some of the most prominent companies in sports memorabilia – including Legendary Auctions, Grey Flannel, Professional Sports Authenticators and now-defunct Mastro Auctions – have been questioned at shows in recent years.

Schumacher’s plea agreement says he has agreed to cooperate, which suggests that he could be used as a witness against other memorabilia industry executives.

Court documents say Schumacher would alter the jerseys to make them appear game-used, then sell them to South Carolina dealer Bradley Horne, who sold them to card companies and other buyers.

Horne and memorabilia dealers Bernard Gernay of Howell, N.J., and Jarrod Oldridge of Las Vegas pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Monday.

The pleas raise questions about the true value and integrity of high-end cards that include threads or swaths of cloth cut out of athletes’ jerseys.

Schumacher was a target in Operation Foul Ball, an investigation into sports memorabilia conducted by the Chicago FBI more than 10 years ago. He pleaded guilty in 2000 and received three years probation and was fined $30,000.

Prosecutors say Schumacher could serve between 33 to 41 months in prison. He was one of six dealers charged last month with selling counterfeit game-used jerseys to trading card companies.

The defendants also include Eric Inselberg, a New Jersey dealer linked to a North Carolina warm-up jersey sold at a 2007 Mastro Auction for $11,000. Mastro executives claimed the jersey had once belonged to Michael Jordan.

As the Daily News first reported, authenticators and collectors said the jersey was an obvious fake in the weeks leading up to the auction, which was conducted at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-...#ixzz1egeyUsrA

[lakeerie92]

Schumacher’s plea agreement says he has agreed to cooperate, which suggests that he could be used as a witness against other memorabilia industry executives.

Could this potentially mean that there are more people that they will go after?

[xpress34]

Mitchell Schumacher has now pleaded guilty as well. That's 4 of the 6, leaving Inselberg and Wells

http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com...fraud-charges/

As I mentioned earlier in this thread:

It also appears that even though Mitch Schumacher was trying to make a Plea (Criminal Information as well), the Feds have as yet to reach a Plea Deal with him - maybe because of his past:

In addition to Oldridge, Horne and Gernay, Wisconsin resident Mitchell Schumacher was also charged by information with mail fraud. No plea deal involving Schumacher was announced. He pled guilty to frauds and swindles as part of Operation Foul Ball in 2000 and received three years of probation and was fined $30,000.

It's possible the Feds are going to hit him harder because of his past involvement in the same crime.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

- Smitty

4th Dealer Pleads Guilty

From that article:

In 2000, Schumacher was caught in a similar scheme during the FBI's Operation Foul Ball. He could face a tougher sentence because of that.

Other notable statements in the article:

Prosecutors say the jersey scam was going on as late as the middle of this year.

They also indicate that Schumacher and others involved in the scheme provided phony certificates of authenticity to buyers

The above statement is more damning than the actual alterations because it makes it abundantly clear that they had ever intent to fully present these jerseys as GU.

I hope they all give up other fraudulent dealers and auction houses and that they ALL end up in jail!!!

Like the others who've pleaded guilty, however, Schumacher has agreed to offer information the government likely believes will be helpful in nabbing other dealers its ongoing investigation of the sports memorabilia industry.

Other articles including the FBI page state that there are MINIMUM sentencing standards that have to be met for these charges (plea or otherwise) and I believe it is somewhere around 33 to 41 MONTHS in Jail!

Only time will tell where this takes us!

- Smitty

[xpress34]

Schumacher's Plea:

Schumacher's Plea

His is more intense than Jarrod's....

- Smitty