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Need a good autograph -fraud attorney

As some of you know I am an avid Audrey Hepburn collector - I daily seek out her rare items. I have posted before about fake autographs I have found and spend money on getting authenticated - Bonanza in my opinion is the biggest offender. What bothers me is that they are so obvious about it. As an example check out their Audrey Hepburn "verified" autographs: https://www.bonanza.com/items/search?q[country_to_filter]=US&q[...

As you can see in the the grouping most all of them are the exact same signature in about the same place. I know these are fake, I know they don't care and it p***** me off.

What can be done to stop them? I have 2 that I purchased and got verified to prove my point - I have posted those in the past, but now I want to take this to the next level.

Does anyone know someone who could help stop this fraud.

Thank you - David
AudreyRuston.com

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on March 14, 2020 at 11:58am

My suggestion is to compose a very concise report on this, assuming that before it would ever be passed along to an autograph analyst, layman will be reading your report, and forward it to the offices of:

1) your state Attorney General

2) the seller's state Attorney General

3) your local DA

4) the seller's local DA

Also file the same report for:

The FBI mail fraud website page.

That would be a good start. There may be more reports filed from others, which could cause a more immediate response.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Morris on March 14, 2020 at 4:12pm

Agree with Woody, a clear concise report, almost an idiots guide and one of those mentioned may do something to these scammers

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Permalink Reply by Woody2Shoes on March 28, 2020 at 7:12pm

That's the one, Tim. The online FBI Fraud complaint form, IC3. That'll get the ball rolling. Report should be written with taking into consideration that the one reading it knows little about the nuts and bolts of authentication or the hobby as a whole. Simple explanation is key. Hopefully, that will get it to someone a little more knowledgeable with the nomenclature and workings of autograph collecting which will lead to a more detailed discussion.

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Permalink Reply by David Todd on March 18, 2020 at 2:19pm

Thank you, good advice

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on April 13, 2020 at 9:01pm

Law enforcement rarely does anything in autographs unfortunately. That's why the autograph field is inundated with vile garbage criminals.

Attorneys are very expensive. There's a possibility of a class action lawsuit, if you're a victim of fraud on Bonanza, and you might find an attorney to take it on contingency. I may be able to assist there but it's not easy.

You can also report sellers of forgeries to Bonanza. Since there are a lot of copies of the same autograph, that makes it easier. Not that it's required, but they have terms and conditions that don't allow sales of counterfeit items:

Fake, imitation or knock-off items
- Material that infringes Copyright and Intellectual Property, including but not limited to software or other digital goods you are not authorized to sell, warez, bootlegs (without consent of the brand)
- Counterfeit stamps and coins
- Products or services identified by Bonanza and/or government agencies to have a high likelihood of being fraudulent
- Fake or false documents such as diplomas, custom or pre-written essays, invalid click or "ad spam" products

It's on this page: https://support.bonanza.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001173511