6 charged with fraud

[Preston]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

I heard that it was in JO's best interest NOT to issue any statements until their attorneys have reviewed everything and given the go ahead to do so.

Understatement of the year. I'd be surprised if they even did release a presser. They're beyond damage control at this point.

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Seems like there's a lot of "piling on" happening in this thread.....before any determination of guilt or innocence has even been made.

I've done business with JO Sports for over 2 years now and have never encountered any issues regarding authenticity whatsoever. Quite the contrary, I can generally photomatch any item from their inventory that I'm interested in long before any purchase is made.

Robert Kovacs has been my JO representative from the beginning and is a study in courtesy and professionalism. So, while others may seem to want to rush to judgement, I have nothing but positive things to say about a company that has been instrumental in the building of my Bears collection and are largely responsible for its contents today.

I disagree with you. Where is there piling on? My rep told me they have THOUSANDS of loyal customers of which you are one. A few people state "trust but verify".

Would I personally do business with Oldridge again or JO. Not in your lifetime!

[freddiefreeman5]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Whitey Herzog said Cardinals owner Gussie Busch once offered Whitey a lifetime contract. Whitey's response: "Your lifetime or mine?"

Classic Whitey Herzog.

[allstarsplus]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Andrew,

Yes. Same guy. Confirmed by the Daily News article today. Ver batim:

<<The defendants 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 belong to Michael Jordan.

Nick

Truly amazing and my friend Jim Reed was the one that unfoiled that. He was the one who got the Ranzino Smith warm-up from Smith and sold it and kept photos and identified it as the same one when it went to auction as a Michael Jordan.

What is strange to me in the complaint against Jarrod Oldridge, it names Inselberg in that same complaint.

This whole thing is surreal.

[34swtns]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Seems like there's a lot of "piling on" happening in this thread.....before any determination of guilt or innocence has even been made.

I've done business with JO Sports for over 2 years now and have never encountered any issues regarding authenticity whatsoever. Quite the contrary, I can generally photomatch any item from their inventory that I'm interested in long before any purchase is made.

Robert Kovacs has been my JO representative from the beginning and is a study in courtesy and professionalism. So, while others may seem to want to rush to judgement, I have nothing but positive things to say about a company that has been instrumental in the building of my Bears collection and are largely responsible for its contents today.

[Birdbats]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

What is a lifetime guarentee?

For the life of the company?
For the life of the owner of the item?
For the life of the item?
Until the company decides that lifetime guarentee's are no longer honored?
Until Snoopy comes home?

Whitey Herzog said Cardinals owner Gussie Busch once offered Whitey a lifetime contract. Whitey's response: "Your lifetime or mine?"

[allstarsplus]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Eric,

Exclusive Pro might be located in Rockford, IL but I for one think that is completely a coincidence.

In reading the following 2 paragraphs, I gathered that the Federal Prosecutors' Office was located in Rockford --

<<Six sports memorabilia dealers have been charged with selling hundreds of bogus game-used jerseys to trading card companies and other buyers, federal prosecutors in Rockford, Ill., announced Tuesday.>>

<<A press release issued by the office of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, says the defendants obtained hundreds of jerseys from retail outlets and other sources, and then scuffed them up to make them appear to have game-used wear and tear.>>

I don't think it gets into where the retail outlets were located, but if any of these defendants went ahead and bought their jerseys at a retail outlet such as Exclusive Pro, it is what they did to the jerseys afterwards that was the criminal act (as per 2nd paragraph above).

It could be a coincidence and this has nothing to do with Exclusive Pro doing anything wrong. They make excellent custom authentic jerseys.

The tie-in is a rumor that links many of these dealers in the 6 that were charged by the FBI to purchasing "custom" jerseys from the same place which is ___________________ and re-selling them as Game Used.

I have also heard the rumor that Boston Sports Fan wrote about with the sports card tie-ins. You can read some of the sports cards blogs as they are weighing in on this also.

[freddiefreeman5]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

What is a lifetime guarentee?

For the life of the company?
For the life of the owner of the item?
For the life of the item?
Until the company decides that lifetime guarentee's are no longer honored?
Until Snoopy comes home?

[TNTtoys]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

From the original release
"Each defendant was allegedly involved in a business engaged in the purchase and sale of sports memorabilia, and the schemes are alleged to have taken place in Rockford and several other states."

Isn't Exclusive Pro in Rockford, Illinois?

Eric,

Exclusive Pro might be located in Rockford, IL but I for one think that is completely a coincidence.

In reading the following 2 paragraphs, I gathered that the Federal Prosecutors' Office was located in Rockford --

<<Six sports memorabilia dealers have been charged with selling hundreds of bogus game-used jerseys to trading card companies and other buyers, federal prosecutors in Rockford, Ill., announced Tuesday.>>

<<A press release issued by the office of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, says the defendants obtained hundreds of jerseys from retail outlets and other sources, and then scuffed them up to make them appear to have game-used wear and tear.>>

I don't think it gets into where the retail outlets were located, but if any of these defendants went ahead and bought their jerseys at a retail outlet such as Exclusive Pro, it is what they did to the jerseys afterwards that was the criminal act (as per 2nd paragraph above).

[TNTtoys]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_f...ad.php?t=10331

Is this the same Inselberg of Ranzino Smith to Michael Jordan infamy?

Andrew,

Yes. Same guy. Confirmed by the Daily News article today. Ver batim:

<<The defendants 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 belong to Michael Jordan.

.
.
.

The Daily News reported in August 2007 that Mastro employees sent the "Jordan" shirt and other items to Memorabilia Evaluation and Research Services, one of the hobby’s leading authentication services, for review before the auction at the National that year. The company concluded that while the jersey appeared to be a legitimate 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.


>>

Nick

[SaintsGeaux]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Thanks Barry. AllstarsPlus - when you have team exclusivity you basically have a monopoly of that team. Whether the Ovechkin sells isn't the issue as the price could be $1,000 and the demand would be greater. Barry priced lower early in his carrer and has ratcheted up prices every year. If he hits market saturation, won't he have to drop prices?

I know we are off topic now. I wish Barry well and hope he never trades profits for poor ethics.

[allstarsplus]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Andrew,

MeiGray has had an exclusive working relationship with the Washington Capitals since the 2002-03 NHL season.

MeiGray has sold 76 game-worn Alexander Ovechkin jerseys since he debuted with the Caps in 2005-06. Those jerseys include two donated for charity and worn in one game each: In 2006-07 for Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids (sold for $6,020 via auction) and in 2007-08 for Hockey Fights Cancer (sold for $9,020 via auction).

The lowest price paid for an Ovy gamer was $4,500. We sold three early-season rookie jerseys for that price in the winter of 2005, before he became the NHL Superstar he is today, including his NHL Debut jersey.

The highest price we got for an Ovy gamer was $20,505 for the jersey Ovechkin wore in during the second period of the 2011 Winter Classic.

Barry, perfect! It also proves my point of supply and demand. I didn't mention exclusivity or static pricing dynamics. So for 10 straight years you have handled the Caps and throughout Ovechkin's entire tenure.

[dcgreg25]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Andrew,

MeiGray has had an exclusive working relationship with the Washington Capitals since the 2002-03 NHL season.

MeiGray has sold 76 game-worn Alexander Ovechkin jerseys since he debuted with the Caps in 2005-06. Those jerseys include two donated for charity and worn in one game each: In 2006-07 for Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids (sold for $6,020 via auction) and in 2007-08 for Hockey Fights Cancer (sold for $9,020 via auction).

The lowest price paid for an Ovy gamer was $4,500. We sold three early-season rookie jerseys for that price in the winter of 2005, before he became the NHL Superstar he is today, including his NHL Debut jersey.

The highest price we got for an Ovy gamer was $20,505 for the jersey Ovechkin wore in during the second period of the 2011 Winter Classic.

What a great response. Speaking as a collector this is the type of transarancy I would love to see from other organizations that have team contracts. Your prices are what they are and at least collectors have a sense in where they stand in relation to the current market and other jerseys you have sold. There is money to be made in this business and I appreciate the respect MeiGray has for their customers.

[legaleagle92481]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/iteam/2011/10/25/2011-10-25_sports_memorabilia_dealers_charged_in_bogus_gameused_jersey_scheme_ending_4year_.html

Another article on this from the New York Daily News.

[bruno89]

Re: 6 charged with fraud

Meigray is one of the best out there for me.
The jerseys are always awesome and i never question where they come from ,the staff is great to deal with and have amazing patiente sometimes too.
Their prices to me are fair and if i dont think they are ,they able to lower the price most of the times and work with you on payments ,the best company to deal with in my experience as a collector,specially because im a Eagles collector =)