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Permalink Reply by DB on September 7, 2012 at 5:51am

To start it off, I believe this list has been posted previously from operation bullpen.  Remember just because someone is charged is not the same as "guilty as charged"

 Is this list complete?  Are there additions or deletions?   Has anyone ever created an excel spreadsheet to easily list businesses and AKAs that ought to be explicit on the Banned List?

just an FYI - we all know how thread indentation works so if you reply to something pls stay on the reply subject.  If it is something different start a "new" reply section.  For those who might not know how to start a different "subject" reply it's done by responding in the REPLY TO THIS BOX found under the thread subject.

 

The first group of individuals is scheduled to be arraigned on fraud and tax charges on or about April 11, 2000. This group of individuals includes forgers:

• Greg Marino
• Angelo Marino
• Mike Moses
• Mike Lopez
• David Tabb
• Richard Mitchell

This group also includes a number of authenticators and distributors:
1. Wayne Bray
Authenticator and Wholesaler, dba: a. Sports & Celebrity Authentic Autographs
San Marcos, California and b. WW Sports Cards
San Marcos, California 2. John Marino
Gloria Marino
Kathleen Marino
Assisted Forgers and Wholesalers, dba: a. Front Page Art Greg Marino
Angelo Marino 3. Mike Moses
Forger, Wholesaler, and Authenticator, dba a. Sports Management Group
Aliso Viejo, California b. Universal Authentic Memorabilia
San Clemente, California c. Sports Alley
Laguna Niguel, California Robyn Moses
Wholesaler
4. Reno Ruberti
Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Universal Authentic Memorabilia
San Clemente, California Karen Ruberti
5. David Tabb*
Forger, Wholesaler, and Authenticator, d.b.a. a. Hollywood Dreams
Santa Ana, California b. Classic Memorabilia
Santa Ana, California c. Hollywood Collectibles
Santa Ana, California *Tabb was the subject of two television investigative reports regarding the sale of forged memorabilia in the lobbies of theaters in California and Arizona. 6. Ricky Mitchell
Forger and Wholesaler 7. Mike Lopez
Forger and Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. International Sports Marketing
Rosemead, California 8. Mike Bowler
Distributor and Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Catch a Star
Oceanside, California b. JMC Distributors
Oceanside, California c. J & M Sports Cards
Oceanside, California 9. Ricky Weimer
Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Rick's Collectibles
Escondido, California 10. Sheldon Jaffe
Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Shelly's Cards
Tustin, California 11. Richard Laughlin
Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Framed Images
San Juan Capistrano, California 12. Michael Tapales
Wholesaler and "Runner", d.b.a. a. Prime Time Sports Cards
Buena Park, California 13. Carmen "Chip" Lombardo
Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Home Field Advantage
Del Mar, California 14. Jon Hall
Retailer, d.b.a. a. Del Mar Sports Cards
San Diego, California 15. Lowell Katz
Retailer, d.b.a. a. The Beautiful and the Unusual
Long Beach, California 16. Bruce Gaston
Retailer, d.b.a. a. La Jolla Sports Cards
La Jolla, California 17. Frosty Golembeske
Retailer, Wholesaler, d.b.a. a. Frosty's 18. Anthony Marino
Wholesaler d. b. a. a. Pro Sport Memorabilia 19. Scott Harris
Wholesaler, d. b. a. a. Universal Authentic Memorabilia Mary Lou Harris
Wholesaler, d. b. a. a. Universal Authentic Memorabilia The Government's investigation in San Diego is continuing and it is anticipated that many others will be charged with fraud and tax evasion.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Koop on July 26, 2013 at 9:56am

Great article!!

Is JDM Authentics Memorabilia affiliated with any of them?

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Permalink Reply by Lou reves on September 7, 2012 at 7:23am

Maybe they should just ban california listings?

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Permalink Reply by DB on September 7, 2012 at 8:53am

louie along with PA, NJ & Florida.   What I didn't find on the bullpen list was B&J Collectibles (haven't turned on research mode, yet) so I wonder if the list is complete.

A nomination suggestion might be RD's that have been tossed out, at the very least, from UACC or AFTAL.

 

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Permalink Reply by DB on September 7, 2012 at 9:03am

Operation Foul Ball nominees; in addition;

to; Anthony J. Alyinovich, 29, of Chicago, who had concocted a scheme to create and distribute large quantities of forged sports memorabilia, primarily focusing on Michael Jordan and other Chicago Bulls. 

(1999) Robert Austin, formerly of Overtime ProWear of California has received a 30-month prison sentence, 36 months probation after serving time, and ordered to pay $188,000 in restitution. That total is based on invoices found during the FBI bust in June 1996. Austin was largely involved in knowingly selling forged Michael Jordan items.

 

I'm sure there are more but what is puzzeling about the EBAY Banned list is it only "refers" to Bullpen.  Does it mean to include or just an oversight.  Anyone know?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on September 7, 2012 at 3:15pm

Thanks for posting this discussion DB.  I understand that you would like the central focus to be on Operation Bullpen and sports memorabilia but the biggest problem that I have with eBay is the countless number of sellers that prey upon unknowing autograph collectors who are new to the hobby and purchase forgeries with the belief that if they are purchased on eBay then they must be authentic.  I speak from experience since this happened to me and thankfully I learned my lesson early and have not purchased autographs on eBay since.  I understand that sellers need to be protected in the event that they make a mistake but many forgers are taking advantage of this “benefit of the doubt” mentality and are making a fortune off of unknowing buyers.  This has been going on for years and I’m not sure how to prevent it from happening in the future.

Imagine what would happen if members began to post the User IDs of sellers that they suspect of falling into this category.  I can hear the sellers' outrage now.  “I don’t trust PSA.  They have declared a Mickey Mantle autograph that I saw Mickey sign in person to be a forgery.  My friend submitted ten Madonnas that all came back bad and they saw her sign them with their own eyes.”  Give me a break.

As long as there is a reasonable doubt there will never be a true list of forgers on eBay and autograph collectors will continue to have garbage in their collection.  Perhaps we as an autograph community should try to figure out how to reverse this problem.

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Permalink Reply by DB on September 7, 2012 at 3:51pm

Without question Mike.  Some of the sellers you cite have no idea as to authenticity as it has a COA and therefore it must be ok.  Look at the number of sellers who use banned coas.  They don't even realize more often then not they are banned.  Then in addition you have the "over-the-top" descriptions where some cross the line into fraud.  As you say there is also a segment of sellers who absolutely know what they are selling and hope they don't get caught.  As everyone here knows I have a love/hate relationship with the TPAs.  However, until there is a better game in town they are a force to be reckon with (good & bad).

I am still bothered that it cites bullpen but not foulball is but one example but having said that what is the complete list of those involved. 

I'd like to try and see if AML members can build a list of known culprits who are either "implied" on the banned list while making it more explicit.  e.g. I'm not easily finding B&J Collectibles. 

I'm also reminded of a note I received that once these places make the banned list they begin to cover their tracks; e.g. "CSC Collectibles, Autographs America and ACE Authentic). I think they may be catching on though because I recently encountered a listing for one of their classic Mantle forgeries that had the same silver sticker on it except it had the word Kokomo on it rather than CSC" according to an EBAY source.

and as a secondary item nominating those who ought to be considered;  e.g. autographstore, sashaandsadiepup, or american royal arts are just a few that surely have met the threshold especially after reading the many indictment threads.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on September 7, 2012 at 4:21pm

How would you suggest that this be accomplished?  Should members just begin to list sellers that they suspect and leave Steve to moderate whether or not their concerns are justified or not?  Can't you hear the cries of the suspects now?  "This is a witch hunt!  AML is not a reputable website because it allows such practices!"  I say again, give me a break.

Is there anyone here that can contact people at eBay that are genuinely concerned about cleaning up the forged autograph memorabilia on their website?  Members could send private messages to keep it quiet and still achieve the same results.  Eventually the forgers may feel the heat and not find it worthwhile to attempt to sell their garbage.  They can find another auction site to join and eBay will achieve a reputation of being one that does not tolerate fraud.

Perhaps I am just a naive idealist.  I know that there are many who suggest that eBay will never do anything to stop this since they make a fortune along with PayPal in this business.

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Permalink Reply by DB on September 8, 2012 at 1:22am

When last I checked EBAY and now their sub paypal with outrageous APRs are doing just fine.

I'd be primarily interested to start with fleshing out those that contained with bullpen and foulball.  There are AML members here who have a long knowledge of quite a few people

As far as nominations are concerned there needs to be long history and supporting evidence that forgeries/non-authentic outnumber authentic ones and it's consistent.  Not just someone bought something that turned out to be not authentic and no refund.  Or a COA has ended up on a bad bunch.   As one EBAY source said, "if every place that sold a non-authentic item ended up on the banned list, there would be few to choose from".  So nominations are not just shoot from the hips otherwise credibility is lost very quickly.  The I heard about... also doesn't work.  

It ought to be a no-brainer when someone is convicted.  Why they haven't made this list is still baffling.

There is a constituency that already says that about AML.  And, when it can't be sold on EBAY there are dozens of other places where it shows up and voila it reappears on EBAY.  Vicious cycle isn't it.

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Permalink Reply by DB on September 24, 2012 at 2:52pm

Sooner or latter CIT will get it's act back together.  Even though the former head of it is still at EBAY there continues to be very checkered actions overall while they continue their restructuring.

maybe when they restructure we can nominate the following based on other thread submissions;

YMC Sports COA; 1700 N.State Rd 7 441, Unit 4 Margate Florida

My Favorite Players Inc COA

Myst-O-Graph COA 2900 W. Sample Rd. Booth 4237 Pompano Beach, Florida

MFP Reborn Inc. COA

Autographed Legends LLC COA

 

a common thread seems to be either Mark Calamusa of CSC Collectivles and Anthony Tony Podsada and the China Ball Syndrome.

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