I have been buying and selling autographs for over 20 years, I won't claim to be an expert, but I can spot a forgery a mile away, the same people who sale online also sell to the people who do the auctions and the stores in Vegas, I would say 10 to 12 people are responsible for 70 to 80 percent of the crap you see on the internet and at vacation spots around the world, wish the FBI had time to track these scum bags down. Anyone heard of a Tony Trimane, have heard a lot about this guy.

Don't worry, Bob. I will be getting the FBI involved, you can rest assured of that. I was just reading testimonial letters on their website, and something struck me as odd. One charity thanked them for the McCartney and Rolling Stones signed guitar. How is it this company has soooo many guitars signed by Eric Clapton (who doesn't sign guitars, and is often hard to get signing anything), and McCartney and Stones (also tough on guitars). I'm also wondering why....Anthony Nurse and his Charity Fundraising Packages haven't commented on this thread. Autograph Magazine is where EVERYBODY GOES to find out about autographs. And any company has tracking things that tells them when their business is mentioned in any kind of thread. Yet he's not logging on here to defend his company? To show the photos of his items? To tell us how he acquires these pieces? The silence or lack of response from him, tells us volumes.

Two things. First, regarding that autographed President picture -- the news just ran a story about 9 pictures signed by all the living Presidents (including Obama). These 9 photos sold for one million dollars! All for charity. Yet...this one we showed, with obvious forged signatured sold by Charity Fundraising Packages, sold for a mere $2,000 at a charity auction. Oh, and it was signed by vice presidents and first ladies, too. Hmmm....good deal (if it were real).  Also, I know for a fact that Anthony Nurse has been shown this thread, so...I'd love to hear from him on here about his items.

Hey Josh, I have been leary of this company for a long time. I bought one item from them and have been questioning them ever since. What do you think of this Adam Lambert?... Real or not real?

The slant, angle and pressure are all wrong compared to the in-person Lamberts we have obtained over the years. I hope that helps.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with their experiences with his signature.

The Adam Lambert is off compared to others I've seen

Well Janice, do I have some good news for you! I'm friends with Adam Lambert's dad Eber. We have been friends since before his son got famous. I was having Thanksgiving dinner at their house, when Adam was texting his dad to tell him about quitting the show Wicked in Los Angeles, to go on American Idol (his dad wasn't happy about that at the time, but very happy with final results, obviously). In fact, I wrote a story in Autograph Magazine (back when it was an actual magazine) interviewing Eber Lambert (Steve Cyrkin, anyway to post a link of that somewhere people can find?) So, I will forward this picture to Eber, and he'll go right to the source -- his son ADAM LAMBERT. And guess what? If it is deemed fake, we can try to get your money back, and use this -- along with all these other bogus things that have been sold by Anthony Nurse and his company, to try and get the authorities involved. I have to ask though...why have you had doubts about this company? Also, can you tell us the charity you bought it from?

Actually, I didn't directly buy it from a charity. It all started on facebook. I joined a autograph collecting club a few years back (don't even remember the club name). Anthony nurse also was a member of this club at the time. He would post on the site, about his Autograph Store. I clicked on the link and it took me right to his website. At the time, you could also bid on items not associated with a charity event. I don't know if you can still do that or not, because I have not looked at his site for awhile. I do still get emails from them saying they updated there catalog, but I don't even look at the site no more.

I bid on the Adam Lambert photo and won it. I don't even remember how much it went for, but I am thinking $100. It came with a nice COA.

I also follow them on Facebook and a few years back, they were raffling off a Autograph photo of Princess Diana. Right there a RED FLAG went off in my head. How could this be. The photo was beautiful with a beautiful signature. If that photo with that signature on it was real, it would go for thousands of dollars. So why would this company be giving this away? I questioned this on his FB page and he wrote back that is was 100% real. Right there I never trusted him again.

The final kicker was, he puts on his FB page photos of people working for him obtaining these autographs. Well, one of these photos was of a Facebook friend of mine that truly gets a lot of celebrity in-person autographs. I thought to myself, does she work for him???? I wrote to her on FB and asked how well she knew him. She replied, She don't. I then told her that they are using her photo, saying that she works for them. Now, I don't want to give her name, because maybe she doesn't want involved. That is up to her to contact you. But I am pretty sure, she did contact Steve at the time. I hope this helps.....To many innocent victims are falling for his crap

Thank you for that, Janice. I'll let you know what the Lambert's say -- and we'll see if he refunds your money.

Now, obviously Adam Lambert's dad isn't an authority on autographs, but here's what he said: Eber Lambert

(it should be noted, Eber has gotten lots of autographs for his co-workers and friends that have asked...so aside from a person normally knowing the signatures of their kids, he's probably seen that autograph more than most)

Thank you Josh for taking action on this matter. Keep us posted on any further development

Josh or anyone....do you have a authentic Lambert you could post on her for comparison?

Here's the latest. I got a letter from the MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION, where I had been a volunteer for about 15 years. They say because of this, "my services as a volunteer are no longer wanted." So...you try to expose a guy for selling forged junk at charity events, and this is what happens. I wasn't going to mention the Make-a-Wish Foundation in this thread, but...just so everybody knows -- get the word out. If ANYBODY bought ANY autographed item from make-a-wish (specifically in the last three years), get it authenticated. Take photos for us, when we pursue this with the authorities -- and we'll tell you if it's authentic or not. And then you can go about getting your money back. According to the people at Make a Wish, they have a contract with this guy who sells known forgeries, so...don't accept not getting your money back. Doesn't matter if it was years ago, or within their 30 day period. The company should reimburse you. Who cares if it costs the charity -- they CONTINUE to do known business with a guy selling forgeries -- and they still have a testimonial letter on this losers website. As do the other charities that have been contacted.

That is disgusting Josh. 15 years of giving your time and effort and then trying to help and Make a Wish choose to keep in bed with a known forger rather than helping expose his dodgy dealings. Hope you can find another place who will be happy for your help.

As for Make a Wish, I wonder how many they have sold and how much they will have to pay back if it all comes out and people request refunds.

I don't even completely blame Make a Wish for all this. Their logic is -- we've had 3 years of stuff from Anthony Nurse, and not one complaint. Yeah, well...most people buying items don't think to check authenticity. They see the CoA that comes with it, and think that's golden. Oh well. I did hear from one charity that seems to be on the ball with this all, so...we'll see what happens.

Josh...you're fighting an uphill battle.

The business model for a company that may be providing bogus sigs to charity is diabolically simple and brilliant.  Generally, NO ONE is in any position to complain.  

The charity is happy because it's made money with little or no overhead attached.  The buyer is happy because he has a nice piece and feels like he's done a good deed giving to charity. And, as you point out, there is no inkling that an item is fake...until perhaps the purchaser tries to sell it. If someone raises the issue, as you did, the charity doesn't want to hear it.  And law enforcement is unlikely to take any interest unless and until strong evidence of forgery is dropped in its lap.  These guys are not experts, proving forgery is time consuming and they don't want to get involved in wha they may consider a "civil matter."

The key point is provenance.  Where did the item come from and when was it obtained.  The supplier should have a record.  And a charity should ask for it.  It may also be useful to examine any photos provided as "proof" of authenticity.  If an item is fake, the photos had to come from somewhere and they may be elsewhere online.

I agree with all of the above, aside from one thing. Wouldn't the authenticity be rather easy to prove? For example, we have an expert look at various items they sold at a charity auction. That expert, and another expert, deem them to be bogus. Then...the FBI or whatever authorities get involved, ask for proof these celebrities signed the items. When they don't have it (no photos of the bands signing the records, just a few generic pictures of said celebrity signing an autograph for a crowd of 50)...that should be enough for the FBI to say "You havent proven anything, and you are knowingly distributing these pieces to charities." For example, if it were merely one item -- no case. Once you get multiple items, and with multiple charities involved, I have to think the authorities will think this is nasty business on a number of levels. 

Here's the latest -- another charity contacted me. They had a Rolling Stones guitar that has fake signatures on it (I'm hoping to have Mr. Epperson take a look at it soon). So, at least we're getting the word out with some of these charities, and it won't be long until we get authorities involved. Sorry, Mr. Nurse. Your reign of forgeries is coming to an end.

Thank you for keeping us updated

Well it's good you have others on alert. If it is fake, which you would expect then hopefully the charity will alert others and take these guys down

Just noticed two items donated from this guy on CharityBuzz.com, a U2 signed guitar and a Michael Jackson LP. That website auctions meet-and-greets with McCartney and the Eagles etc., so they're usually legit. One of you autograph experts maybe want to contact them?

Ira -- No, that doesn't matter. Here's why. Anthony Nurse was given the opportunity to tell me HOW his pieces were acquired, when I first inquired. He didn't. He provided no pictures and no dates on when these artists signed. He merely gave me a huge long explanation on how Eric Clapton's signature has changed over the years. When I politely inquired on some other details, he got nasty. A charity that does real signings (like the Grammy Foundation), provide photos of the artist signing SPECIFIC items (not just generic pictures of the artist signing for a crowd, the way Anthony Nurse and Charity Auction Packages has)...and still, that being said -- let's just say that this company does an occasional meet-and-greet. That, too...means very little. Perhaps one or two of their autographs over the years have been real, or they do an occasional meet-and-greet. That doesn't take away from the fact that a large portion of what they distribute are forgeries and that they know and create these forgeries.

"That doesn't take away from the fact that a large portion of what they distribute are forgeries and that they know and create these forgeries."

Are you referring to Charity Auction Packages or Charity Buzz? I've never won any Charity Buzz auctions - way too pricey for me - but I've looked at dozens of items they've auctioned the past year or so. Almost all of them were donated by the artists or their management. Like several signed Eagles guitars donated by Irving Azoff or band members. The two pieces I mentioned above stuck out as not looking right, and I when I saw who donated them I remembered this thread. Curious if you and others have a look @ charitybuzz.com and post your opinions. Thanks.

Here's a winner from Anthony Nurse:

Here is what I believe to be a fake George Harrison autograph that just appeared on eBay with an Autograph Store COA. The BIN price is only $275, which would be quite a bargain for an authentic George signed photo.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111176008784

That Harrison is horrible, not even a decent try !

brutal

I love the phrasing here: "This item was signed in person by the aforementioned celebrity..."

Uhh...isn't every autograph signed by the celebrity?

"...and obtained exclusively through Autograph Store."

So there's no statement that the item was signed IN THE PRESENCE of anyone affiliated with the business.

Does anyone know what happens if you come back to the business challenging the legitimacy of the item?  What support is required?

The George "signed" photo was removed by eBay and the seller subsequently re-listed it as a one day auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111176280065

Another disaster from Charity Fundraising Packages. The seller states that he is attempting to recoup the original cost, and the BIN price is $4K.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321225532427

I just wanted to thank you all for saving my reputation.  I was on the phone with Anthony today - going through the list of items I wanted for my school's auction.  We got to the The Thriller album signed by Michael Jackson; it was listed for only $550.  Bells started going off in my head but I continued my call with him.  I checked the BBB and found no complaints.  It did a generic search for his charityfundraisingpackages.com site and didn't see any complaints.  Then I did a more pointed query, "authentication issues charity fundraising packages" and bingo!

I e-mailed Anthony that his prices seemed too good to be true - that they didn't jive with the marketplace -  and I would not be using his service.  His reply:

Smart move. These crooks have been using charities to peddle forgeries for along time. Many that attend actually believe the items were donated by the celebrities rather than a junk peddler hiding behind the scenes.

Just read this blog. I am sick to my stomach. It is unreal what these forgers will do. Reminds me of "The Auto Scouts" who forge BIBLE INSCRIPTIONS on balls. There is a special place in hell for these people. 

Thank you so much for posting your story here, Lori. If you read my original post about this...I lost my VOLUNTEER job of 15 years with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, simply for telling my boss to stop using these forgeries. They were obvious to me they were forgeries (the autographs I'm familiar with...like the Paul/Ringo and Eagles albums, and Clapton guitar). What I love is that his defense is those testimonial letters. IF, and this is a big IF...the bands actually did provide these, he'd have photos of the bands signing them, dates they were signed, and the actual item in the photo being held by the stars. That's how the Grammy Auction does it, and they're legit. The stars are signing for charity, they understand that photos of them signing each specific item is imperative. Oh well. I contacted the FBI, they are looking into it...and the stories keep coming in. I'll do a much bigger story in the future.

Very smart, Lori.   Few people would have the instincts and sense (and maybe the desire) to do the search.

The Hackensack address may be an older one.

I think a more interesting question is (and those who have posted, please respond), did the victims contact the charity; and, after being notified, did the charity continue to use the same company?

Josh, the testimonial letters are probably forgeries, too!

Good one, Lori.

Unfortunately, they're probably all too real.  As I posted previously in this thread, this is a diabolical business model:

Generally, NO ONE is going to complain. 

The charity is happy because it's made money with little or no overhead attached.  It also may be ignorant of any fraud. As with most purchasers, what does the charity know about authenticity? The buyer is happy because he has a nice piece and feels like he's done a good deed giving to charity. And there is no inkling that an item is fake...until perhaps the purchaser tries to sell it. 

If someone like Josh raises the issue with a charity, you see what happens. He gets the boot. The charity doesn't want to lose its little gravy train. It becomes a matter of "don't ask, don't tell and if you do tell I'll pretend I didn't hear."

Frankly, I'm amazed that the feds are giving Josh's complaint serious consideration.

Lori -- the charity testimonial letters are real. Otherwise, they'd have lawyers in there demanded he take them down. I will tell you this...the forgers HAVE BEEN UNCOVERED. There names: Anthony Nurse has a real name. It is ANTHONY BARONE. His partner in crime: [Name removed unless confirmed].

So, remember these names: Anthony Nurse IS Anthony Barone. Forger is: [Name removed unless confirmed]. Here's an email I got that also mentioned this (he/she wanted to remain anonymous):

Josh,

I was browsing through some of the autograph boards the other day and I saw a post of yours from a few months ago about Anthony Nurse aka Anthony Barrone. A little about Nurse...Anthony Nurse has been selling forgeries for years through charity events and countless ebay sites. He has many charity websites as you know. He and many other dealers like the charity circuit because people are more willing to pay extra for something they believe is for a good cause. They are also less likely to question its authenticity. Typically what happens is a charity will call a company like Nurse's for items to auction. The highly inflated minimum bid goes to Nurse. Anything over goes to the house for the charity. There may be other deals in place but that's usually what happens. I'm sure you probably know how all of that works but you may not know that a major part of Nurse's success is his silent partner [Name removed unless confirmed] in South Carolina. They have been working together for about 15 years. Auction houses, authenticators, dealers etc...will tell you they wouldn't touch anything from Nurse and they are probably telling the truth. However, they deal with [Name removed unless confirmed] all the time. PSA and JSA have authenticated thousands of pieces of memorabilia that belonged to Nurse through [Name removed unless confirmed].  Large memorabilia companies don't like Nurse either but they have been buying his garbage unknowingly for years through [Name removed unless confirmed]. [Name removed unless confirmed] submits so much stuff to authenticators like PSA and JSA that the authenticators come to him. The same is true for auction houses and ebay. These two don't stop at autographs. You will also find "designer" apparel at their charity events. You guessed it; that is all fake too.
 
Who am I? Well, I wish to remain anonymous at this point. I'm just a guy in the business trying to make an honest living and tired of criminals like Nurse and [Name removed unless confirmed] that are making truckloads of cash and getting away with it. The sad part is, these guys are far from the only crooks in the biz. The con artists/forgers far out-number the good guys. So be careful who you deal with in the memorabilia business. Most of these guys are intertwined in one way or another.

A different email from somebody else said the following:

Here is the Bond poster....

He sold (3) Stones guitars our cost was $1,200.00 each. Unbelievable..they all turned out to be fakes.

One charity told me this, in regards to a recent Stones guitar Anthony Nurse and his company provided:

Just an FYI I got the Stones guitar back from PSA. They didn't have 2-3 bullet points of why in their opinion they think it is a forgery they had 11!!!!

Excessive pen pressure
Drawn slowly
Irregular overlapping of strokes
Pen lifts
Heisitation, tremors, etc

The emails keep coming in! Somebody else gave me another name of a forger:

CHAD REED.

Here's what it said: 

Good luck!

This was the follow up email this other person sent me (and asked to stay anonymous on this site):

I hope you have success but know that Chris Reed is a very smart character and covers his rear. You will have to work hard to catch him. I suspect that Anthony might be the weaker link.

Of course I can't prove any of this but as I stated before people who have been collecting long enough know all about Chis Reed.

I suspect you have only touched the old 'tip of the iceberg' with this forgery ring.

One charity had sent me various photos and guitars Anthony Nurse and his "Charity" company provided. All deemed to be fake.

Another charity, the same thing. This was his first email:

Mr. Board…

Can you name the individuals you claim to know for a fact that any of the items Mr. Nurse has sold are forged/fakes and their contact information?  Also – what are their credentials? And how “independent” are their evaluations/assessments?

We currently have our own team of experts researching the items in our possession.

After reading up on both Mr. Nurse (via your links) and on you and the folks associated with  Autograph Magazine Live, I am quite distrustful of all of you… and wonder what you and your colleagues stand to gain from this… the more I learn about the autograph/memorabilia/authentication business, the less I want anything to do with it at all…

You make statements that – if true – are disturbing concerning Mr. Nurse and his business practices…. And if false – are downright vicious and defaming and libelous…

Even though I didn’t like Ronald Reagan, the one quote of his that I actually embraced is, “Trust – but verify”…

At this point – I don’t trust, but am working on the verification parts…

(JOSH BOARD SAYS IN RESPONSE TO THIS):  I have no problem with this guy being angry at my and others accusations about Anthony Nurse (Anthony Barone). In his email to me above, he brings up two very good points. One: what I'm saying is libelous. Yet, why hasn't Anthony contacted me, had a lawyer contact me, or even responded on these pages? Any "honest" or reputable business would clearly want to state that they're the real deal.

Two: what would I gain out of it? Well, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I have thousands of autographs, and I don't sell them. I sometimes trade them with people. I often give them away as gifts (if I know somebody is a big fan).

Well, this charity did their investigation, found their items were fake, and they sent this follow up to me, after I asked what they were doing about it:

Hi Mr. Board…

Thank you for your initial contact and subsequent communications regarding questions you have related to the autographed consignment items that Mr. Nurse provides via Charity Fundraising Packages.

I have included in this e-mail our agency’s attorney – XXXXX XXXXXX – as he has been involved since last Thursday morning when you sent us your first e-mail.

You may be getting contacted by others – as we have made initial reports and solicited help from local authorities to get to the bottom of this matter.

We did not include any of the items that were obtained this year through Mr. Nurse’s business in our auction this past weekend, and are awaiting instructions on what to do with those items.

While I cannot currently comment on any details of this situation, please know that we took your warnings seriously and immediately began our own internal investigation regarding the items we have in our possession.  You may be getting calls or e-mails from others who are now handling this case.

We cannot comment at this point on the authenticity issues – as that is what is being investigated.  Suffice it to say that we pride ourselves on our honesty, transparency, and integrity – and pulled all the items from our auction once serious doubts were raised about them.

We thank you for contacting us and starting this process.

We have learned a lot in a very short time about the celebrity/autograph/memorabilia business – and are a bit wiser now than we were a week ago.

Thanks, XXXX  XXXXXX

SO, let’s start from the beginning. I volunteered at an event called “Roll Out the Barrel.” It’s where big spenders pay hundreds of dollars for dinner and wine, and the opportunity to bid on items like vacations, hotel stays, dinners at fancy restaurants. All of it, having proceeds go to “Make-a-Wish San Diego.”  (still a great charity, despite the fact that they won’t stop using fake autographs from Anthony Nurse and Charity Fundraising Packages). Anyway, I told my boss at the event, about the items being fake. I was told she didn’t have time to deal with it. I sent an email a few days later, and she said she’d look into it. And this….is what that lying windbag named Anthony Nurse (Anthony Barone), had to say about his fake autographs at the Make-a-Wish Foundation auction:

Hi Toria,

Congrats on another great event! Please let me know when you have the final results. 

To answer the email you sent me, please see below (1) how we obtain our items in person and (2) our 3-step authentication process. 
 
Charity Fundraising Packages takes great pride in the authenticity of it’s auction items, which is why we employ such a vigorous authentication process and stand behind each and every one of our items 100%, guaranteeing them for life.

I encourage you to review our 3-Step Authentication Process, which can be found online at:

http://www.charityfundraisingpackages.com/authenticity/
 
Our fundraising team has a long, established history in the collectibles industry. In fact, I personally have been building relationships with the celebrities who sign for us since I was just 12 years old. You can learn more about my background and the relationships I have with some of the celebrities we work with by reading one of our recent blogs (be sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the photos with captions) at: 

http://www.charityfundraisingpackages.com/blog/obtain-autographed-i...

In terms of the Eric Clapton signature, his signature has changed a ton over time. He USED to sign "Eric Clapton" and for about the past 8-10 years just writes "E squiggle" I have attached 2 jpeg images showing the digression over the years of his signature with authentic examples from 1964-2009. 

In terms of Ringo Star he stopped signing in the mail after October 20, 2008 see video announcement at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAU0l7325w0 however we do not obtain items in the mail since we do the signings in person. 

I can't comment on the Eagles because I have no idea who his friend is that plays poker with him and if he did not sign an autograph for him. 

Since 2006, were proud to call over 5,000 non-profits our charity partners. If our core fundraising items weren’t authentic, I have no doubt one of the over 2,000 charities we’ve worked with throughout our past five years in operation would have issued a complaint. To date, we have yet to receive a single complaint regarding our items’ authenticity, and we are proud to say we’ve never been approached by any reputable media or enforcement entities with even the slightest accusation.

Please feel free to contact me directly, if you’d like to discuss authenticity or our authentication process in more detail.

Anthony Nurse

Charity Fundraising Packages

(Phone) 201-840-8777 

(Email) Anthony@charityfundraisingpackages.com

Website: http://www.charityfundraisingpackages.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/charityfundraisingpackages

Since 2006, Charity Fundraising Packages has served over 5,000 charities, schools and non-profits annually, providing fundraising ideas and charity auction items to help them exceed all fundraising goals with zero cost and zero risk to the non-profit. In 2012 the company's no risk auction items raised over $4.1 million at silent auctions, fundraisers and other charity auctions worldwide.

I cannot find the original email where I explained how I knew the items were forgeries when I saw them, but I’m going to dissect all of the idiotic statements in Anthony Nurse (Anthony Barone) response. My responses in ALL CAPS

Hi Toria,

Congrats on another great event! Please let me know when you have the final results. 

To answer the email you sent me, please see below (1) how we obtain our items in person and (2) our 3-step authentication process. 
 
Charity Fundraising Packages takes great pride in the authenticity of it’s auction items, which is why we employ such a vigorous authentication process and stand behind each and every one of our items 100%, guaranteeing them for life.

I encourage you to review our 3-Step Authentication Process, which can be found online at:

http://www.charityfundraisingpackages.com/authenticity/

HIS PROCESS, HE CLAIMS, IS EMPLOYING ‘FULL TIME’ PEOPLE TO OBTAIN THE AUTOGRAPHS. WELL, IF HE HIMSELF ISN’T GETTING THE AUTOGRAPHS, DOESN’T THAT MEAN HIS ‘PEOPLE’ COULD BE FORGING THEM? AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE THIS: WHEN I MET PAUL MCCARTNEY AT AN EVENT IN BEVERLY HILLS, I SAW SOMEBODY GET AN AUTOGRAPH FROM PAUL ON AN ALBUM. YOU KNOW WHAT I SAW 15 MINUTES LATER? THAT SAME GUY, IN A CAR, FORGING OTHER ALBUMS! I SAW THIS WITH MY OWN EYES. SO, IF YOU ARE ‘PAYING’ PEOPLE TO OBTAIN AUTOGRAPHS ‘IN PERSON’…WOULDN’T THEY HAVE AN INCENTIVE TO FORGE ITEMS FOR YOU? SURELY YOU PAY ON THE AMOUNT THEY OBTAIN, RIGHT? THAT, RIGHT THERE, IS PROBLEMATIC.

SECOND, YOU HAVE NO PHOTOS, THAT SHOW THESE PEOPLE SITTING DOWN AND SIGNING FOR YOU. NONE AT ALL. WHEN I DID A STORY ON THE “GRAMMY FOUNDATION” THEY MADE SURE EACH PERSON THAT SAT DOWN TO SIGN FOR THEM, HELD UP THE ITEMS THAT THEY SIGNED. THE ARTISTS UNDERSTAND THAT IS PART OF THE PROCESS. YOU CAN’T SHOW A PICTURE OF ‘STING’ SIGNING FOR 50 FANS AFTER A TV APPEARANCE OR CONCERT, AND CLAIM THAT IS ‘PROOF’ THAT HE SIGNED YOUR ITEM.

ALSO, WITH ALL THE CHARITIES I SPOKE TO – YOU’VE HAD AT LEAST 25 ROLLING STONES GUITARS, AND AT LEAST 15 BEATLES ALBUMS (USUALLY ‘ABBEY ROAD’) SIGNED BY MCCARTNEY AND STARR. WHY NOT A SINGLE PICTURE OF THEM SIGNING FOR YOU?
 
Our fundraising team has a long, established history in the collectibles industry. In fact, I personally have been building relationships with the celebrities who sign for us since I was just 12 years old. You can learn more about my background and the relationships I have with some of the celebrities we work with by reading one of our recent blogs (be sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the photos with captions) at: 

http://www.charityfundraisingpackages.com/blog/obtain-autographed-i...

In terms of the Eric Clapton signature, his signature has changed a ton over time. He USED to sign "Eric Clapton" and for about the past 8-10 years just writes "E squiggle" I have attached 2 jpeg images showing the digression over the years of his signature with authentic examples from 1964-2009. 

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT THIS WAS…IN MY ORIGINAL EMAIL, I DIDN’T TELL HIM THAT ERIC CLAPTON SIGNATURE LOOKED FAKE OR BAD. I SAID IT LOOKED ALMOST REAL, BUT THAT I KNOW FOR A FACT, CLAPTON DOESN’T SIGN AUTOGRAPHS OFTEN, AND NEVER SIGNS GUITARS (THIS STEMS FROM A LAWSUIT BASED ON A CHARITY WHERE HE SIGNED A GUITAR THAT MANY THOUGHT WAS A FORGED SIGNATURE). SO I MERELY INQUIRED, AS TO HOW THAT GUITAR WAS OBTAINED. INSTEAD OF ANSWERING HOW (WITH A TIME, DATE, LOCATION), ANTHONY NURSE (ANTHONY BARONE) SIMPLY GIVES ME THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH, TALKING ABOUT HIS SIGNATURE ‘CHANGING OVER TIME.” NO DUH, YOU BIG DUMMY! THAT’S NOT WHAT I ASKED.

In terms of Ringo Star he stopped signing in the mail after October 20, 2008 see video announcement at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAU0l7325w0 however we do not obtain items in the mail since we do the signings in person. 

THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH WAS ALSO PERPLEXING, SINCE I SAID IN MY EMAIL QUESTIONING THESE SIGNATURES, THAT RINGO DOES NOT SIGN AUTOGRAPHS, AND THAT HE “ONLY” SIGNED IN THE MAIL. RINGO SIGNED FOR ME IN PERSON ONCE. THAT’S BECAUSE I HAD JUST INTERVIEWED HIS GUITARIST, JOE WALSH…AND WALSH IS A FRIEND OF MINE. I’VE BEEN TO COUNTLESS CONCERTS WHERE HE IS ASKED, AND NEVER SIGNS. HE TOLD HOWARD STERN HE NEVER SIGNS AUTOGRAPHS. WAIT…STRIKE THAT. IN SAN DIEGO ONCE, HE WENT TO THE CROWD AND SIGNED A POSTER OR SOMETHING, FOR A LITTLE KID IN THE FRONT ROW (BEFORE SAYING “YOU’RE PROBABLY JUST GONNA LET YOUR PARENTS HAVE THAT.”). THAT DOESN’T MATTER. ANTHONY NURSE (ANTHONY BARONE) IS CLAIMING THAT RINGO AND PAUL SAT DOWN FOR HIM. OKAY. LET’S SAY THOSE GUYS ARE CHARITABLE AND DID THAT. AWESOME. WELL, LET’S SEE PICTURES. IN THIS EMAIL, WHERE I BASICALLY ACCUSED HIM OF PROVIDING FORGERIES AND FAKES FOR A MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION AUCTION, HE DOESN’T COME BACK WITH PROOF. I WOULD THINK, THAT IF SOMEBODY ACCUSED YOU OF THIS, YOU WOULD SEND PHOTOS OF THESE MANY TIMES PAUL AND RINGO SAT DOWN TO SIGN ALL THESE AUTOGRAPHS, AND YOU’D PROVIDE DATES. IN THIS DAY AND AGE OF COMPUTERS, ALL THIS STUFF CAN BE DOCUMENTED AND SAVED. AND ANYBODY THAT DEALS WITH AUTOGRAPHS, KNOWS THIS IS THE INFO PEOPLE WANT WHEN THE QUESTION OF AUTHENTICITY POPS UP. YET INSTEAD, ANTHONY NURSE (ANTHONY BARONE) MERELY PROVIDES LINKS ONLINE, ABOUT THESE GUYS TALKING ABOUT AUTOGRAPHS, NONE OF WHICH ARE RELATED TO HIS AUTHENTICATION OF THEM.

I can't comment on the Eagles because I have no idea who his friend is that plays poker with him and if he did not sign an autograph for him. 

THE ABOVE SENTENCE NEEDS A BIT OF CLARIFICATION. I HAVE A FRIEND, THAT IS FRIENDS WITH DON HENLEY. PLAYS POKER WITH HIM ONCE A MONTH SOMEWHERE IN ARIZONA. I GAVE HIM A CD FOR HENLEY TO SIGN. GUESS WHAT? HENLEY SAID NO, HE DOESN’T SIGN AUTOGRAPHS. HE ONLY SIGNS A FEW GUITARS A YEAR, AND THAT THE EAGLES AUCTION THEM THEMSELVES, FOR CHARITIES THEY ARE BEHIND. SOOOO…MY QUESTION WAS, IF DON HENLEY TURNS DOWN HIS OWN FRIENDS FOR AUTOGRAPH REQUESTS, HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE GET ONE SIGNED? BUT…I WAS REALLY JUST BEING NICE. WHAT I WANTED TO SAY TO ANTHONY NURSE (ANTHONY BARONE), WAS…I’VE ACQUIRED EAGLES AUTOGRAPHS MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS, AND THE SIGNED ‘HOTEL CALIFORNIA’ ALBUM THEY HAD, WAS ONE OF THE WORST EXAMPLES OF FORGERY OF THAT BAND THAT I HAD EVER SEEN. ALL OF THEM WERE SIMILAR TO THEIR STYLES, BUT BAD FORGERIES.

THAT BEING SAID….AGAIN, ANTHONY NURSE (ANTHONY BARONE) DOESN’T EXPLAIN HOW THE ALBUM WAS ACQUIRED. INSTEAD, HE JUST SAID “I CAN’T COMMENT BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW YOUR FRIEND.” YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW MY FRIEND, YOU DISGUSTING, LYING SCUMBAG. ALL YOU NEED TO DO, IS EXPLAIN HOW YOU GOT THE SIGNED EAGLES ALBUM. IT’S THAT SIMPLE. DON’T WORRY ABOUT MY FRIENDS. I HAVE FRIENDS THAT WORK WITH PAUL MCCARTNER…SOME THAT KNOW THE EAGLES….I HAD ONE FRIEND THAT IS THE FATHER OF ADAM LAMBERT, THAT SAID YOUR ADAM LAMBERT SIGNATURE WAS FAKE. I’M PROVIDING REASONS WHY I BELIEVE (SCRATCH THAT…KNOW), YOUR AUTOGRAPHS ARE FAKES AND FORGERIES. YOU SIR, HAVE NOT PROVIDED ANYTHING THAT REMOTELY PROVES YOURS ARE REAL. AND SINCE YOU’VE MADE MILLIONS IN THIS BUSINESS, I THINK AT THIS POINT, YOU’D START GETTING SMARTER ABOUT THAT, INSTEAD OF THESE GOOFY RESPONSES THAT MAY HAVE PACIFIED MY BOSSES AT THE MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION, BUT WHEN THE FBI GETS INVOLVED (AS THEY ARE NOW), AND THE NEWS MEDIA TAKES THIS STORY….IT’S GONNA BE CURTAINS FOR YOU (WOW, I JUST SOUNDED LIKE A DETECTIVE FROM 1948 RIGHT THERE).

Since 2006, were proud to call over 5,000 non-profits our charity partners. If our core fundraising items weren’t authentic, I have no doubt one of the over 2,000 charities we’ve worked with throughout our past five years in operation would have issued a complaint. To date, we have yet to receive a single complaint regarding our items’ authenticity, and we are proud to say we’ve never been approached by any reputable media or enforcement entities with even the slightest accusation.

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING. AFTER READING THIS, I WENT TO HIS WEBSITE. I READ THE TESTIMONIAL LETTERS FROM THE CHARITIES. THEY ARE VERY IMPRESSIVE, EXCEPT FOR ONE SMALL THING. THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT FAKE AND FORGED AUTOGRAPHS ARE, OR LOOK LIKE. THEY JUST KNOW THEIR CLIENTS/DONORS BID ON THE ITEMS, EVERYONE MAKES LOTS OF MONEY, AND THEY’RE HAPPY. NOBODY MAY HAVE COMPLAINED, BECAUSE THEY MIGHT NOT KNOW THEY PURCHASED A FORGED ITEM. BUT GUESS WHAT? MANY HAVE COME TO ME, WITH ITEMS THAT ARE FAKE, AND THEY HAVE COMPLAINED. I’M GUESSING YOU WOULD HAVE NO EXCUSE OR EXPLANATION FOR THAT. ALSO….A FEW CHARITIES TOLD ME AFTER FINDING OUT YOUR ITEMS ARE IN FACT, FAKE (FROM OTHER AUTHENTICATORS), THEY ARE GOING TO STOP DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU. SURELY THAT WON’T GO UP ON YOUR WEBSITE, WILL IT?

Please feel free to contact me directly, if you’d like to discuss authenticity or our authentication process in more detail.

THESE LAST FEW SENTENCES WERE THE MOST AMUSING, BECAUSE GUESS WHAT? HE SAYS TO ‘FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF YOU’D LIKE TO DISCUSS AUTHENTICITY IN MORE DETAIL” YET WHEN I DID THAT,…WELL, I’LL SHOW YOU THE FOLLOW UP EMAILS IN A SECOND.

Anthony Nurse

Charity Fundraising Packages

(Phone) 201-840-8777 

(Email) Anthony@charityfundraisingpackages.com

Website: http://www.charityfundraisingpackages.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/charityfundraisingpackages

Since 2006, Charity Fundraising Packages has served over 5,000 charities, schools and non-profits annually, providing fundraising ideas and charity auction items to help them exceed all fundraising goals with zero cost and zero risk to the non-profit. In 2012 the company's no risk auction items raised over $4.1 million at silent auctions, fundraisers and other charity auctions worldwide.

THE BELOW, IS WHAT ANTHONY NURSE (Anthony Barone) responded to my follow up questions about the items. After his response, was Toria Watson, from Make-a-Wish Foundation San Diego:

Thank you for the 2 follow up emails. 

I will respectfully await Toria's reply on how she would like to proceed, if at all. I respect your volunteer position Josh, however Toria is fully employed by Make A Wish and has been our charity partner for the past 3 years. Toria do you or any staff at Make A Wish of San Diego require any additional information from myself and Charity Fundraising Packages? If so Toria, what would you like me to provide to you and the staff at Make A Wish San Diego? 

I was contacted by Tiana Lopez, Communications and Development Coordinator at Make A Wish of San Diego late in the day today saying quote "Roll Out the Barrel was a success! We received so many compliments on your items, people loved them." - end quote. 

I have not heard 1 complaint from any supporter of the event or from any of the auction bidders/winners. It appears that there is no issue with the items that were at Roll Out The Barrel or any other charity auction we have sponsored through Make A Wish San Diego. Toria, if there is any problem please let me know immediately. 

Toria, I look forward to your reply. 

Best Regards,

-Anthony

THE FOLLOWING WAS THEN FROM TORIA WATSON, who was the person that headed the "Roll Out the Barrel" fundraiser, which is an annual event the Make-a-Wish Foundation San Diego does:

Good morning Anthony and Josh,

Anthony, thank you so much for your continued partnership. You have provided excellent service, quality products and to date we have never had one customer complaint regarding the items you have provide.

As a matter of fact, we have received many compliments on the items.

I am completely satisfied with the response and information you graciously provided in regard to the questions Josh forwarded. I must apologize, there is no reason for our volunteer to be contacting you directly.

Josh, please connect with me with any further explanation or questions. Please do not communicate with Anthony beyond this email. I am happy to speak with you regarding your concerns. 

Thank you both for your support of the foundation. 

Respectfully,

Toria Watson

(I then sent the following emails to Toria...not to be a pain, but because i wanted to express my displeasure with her just buying into Anthony Nurse (Anthony Barone) explanation and BS excuses):

Hi Toria,

I'm heading out in about 30 minutes, have an early morning movie screening.

I had done more research (see further emails), and I'm telling you, without a doubt, Anthony is giving us fake autographed items that we are auctioning.

Two big names in the autograph field have now confirmed this with me.

Just because nobody is complaining now, really doesn't mean a lot. You have "regular people" buying these items, that are not autograph experts. I am an autograph expert. My boss at Autograph Magazine has talked to experts, and they agree -- Anthony Nurse deals in forged autographed items.

It might not be now, but it might be two years from now -- when this all blows up in our face. When somebody decides they need the money, and wants to sell their item -- only to find out it's fake.

So I think it's best we take care of the situation now.

I'm a volunteer for Make a Wish, and I'll gladly volunteer ALL MY TIME, contacting anybody that has ever purchased a signed music piece, and get them authenticated or proven to be fakes (which they are).

As somebody that collects music memorabilia, companies that do this irk me to no end.

So please, call me so we can discuss this further.

I SENT THESE. She never again responded to me, and I had to drive 45 minutes into the office, and she wasn’t happy to see me. We talked for 30 minutes, and she assured me she’d look further into it. Instead, I was “let go” as a long-time volunteer for Make a Wish. This was the last email I sent to her, without a reply:

And Toria --

A simple solution, which will prove everything I'm saying -- is me getting pictures of the three items I claim are fake: Eric Clapton guitar, Eagles signed album, Beatles signed album.

I will give you 10 different authenticates, and their opinions on those items (they get paid for their opinions, but they'll do it for me for free).

Any company that is dealing with real items, will have no problem providing those pictures, and letting me do that.

Any company will HAVE those pictures, on file...and WILL NOT have to contact the people that bought them.

I didn't comment on the other items (One Direction, Whitney Houston, etc), because I'm not as well versed in what their signatures look like. The three listed -- I have studied for years, and I know the signing habits of the three main people involved. All of that leads me to believe, and to say, without a shadow of a doubt -- those items are fake. We auctioned off fake autographs, from a guy that has a reputation for dealing in fake autographs. It's really all as simple as that.

MORE STUFF ON ANTHONY NURSE (Anthony Barone) THAT I FOUND ON INTERNET:

 SO TORIA...I did a little more research, and found these comments from other people in the field. It seems Anthony Nurse has been accused of selling forged items in the past. I'm still looking into it on my end, with the experts in the autograph field. Here are a few of the things I found on the Autograph website:

Reply by Michael Kasmar-AutographPros.com on March 27, 2012 at 8:10pm

I can tell you that Anthony Nurse and Autograph Store are based in New York.  Each in-person collector and dealer I've ever talked to and asked have all said they have NEVER sold, supplied or seen anyone that sold/supplied items to www.AutographStore.com and their charity program.  What I have also seen commonplace is that their proof images all resemble that of paid professional paparazzi images.  As an example, I have noticed their photos of people signing outside of David Letterman Show are taken from the same angle as the paparazzi.  This doesn't add up.  Collectors and dealers would be behind the gate on one side so if they were there to get autographs they would have proof photos coming from that angle.  What this appears to me is that they pay a professional photography agency for proof images which would indicate the exact date/location and thus they could have this information which they can "provide upon request".  What is also interesting to note is the last time I looked at their proof images, they had 100s of high quality images of items being signed but of all those, NONE of them showed the EXACT item they were getting signed.  If they are a criminal organization as people suspect, they have duped countless charity fundraising organizations and this could end up being a pretty big headline when all these unsuspecting charities find out they have misled their donors.  It appears they haven't run out of U2, Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen signed guitars and this is going on a few years now. 

There's this, from another that said Nurse sells fakes: Reply by DB on March 27, 2012 at 11:17pm

or just raiding the internet but it would seem the word needs to get out.  I also understand an inquiry was sent in on one of them requesting "signing" information and no response has been received to date.

It is purely evil that charities, presuming there are any involved, might be duped and in turn those buying from the charity as part of charitable donors may be ripped off in the process.

HERE IS ANOTHER COMMENT, from somebody that also said they sell many Beatles signatures, and went to a Harrison Ford signature expert, saying a Star Wars signed Ford was fake from him:  Reply by Dan Gregory on August 13, 2012 at 6:35pm

I am amazed Autograph Store has not been shut down and Anthony Nurse, Michael Tobin and all of those behind the company are not in prison. 

Every item is a fake and so many are now on eBay and elsewhere and are helping destroy this hobby.

NOW TORIA AND STEFANIE -- I'm guessing this is all upsetting news. Imagine my surprise when I was interested in bidding on items, and saw fakes (I can recognize them, as I've been a collector, writer, and editor for Autograph Magazine for over 15 years). I study signatures. And I will tell you this, one more time. NO COMPANY ever minds showing you photos, and letting somebody look to authenticate, let alone tells you the story behind how they were acquired. They love nothing more than to prove what they have is real.

I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm just alerting you -- we're selling bogus, forged signatures for people, that think they're getting things at a great price (which they are!). Only years from now, when they try to sell them -- they're going to be in for a shock. And it's going to make us look bad -- because they won't remember their name, but the MAKE A WISH name!

Please call me with more questions or email me. I'd love to discuss this more, because I'm so livid about it all.

 MORE:

 Re: Possible Fake Autographed Guitars

by AUTOGRAPHMAN » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:29 pm

In addition to the dodgy guitars some of the other items listed on the site are a real mix of good and bad.

usgolfpro 

The other sellers on trade me selling mainly fakes are roxcie and barbie_ken who both appear to be the same person but using different accounts and both selling fakes with the odd genuine item to give an air of maybe not being so fake. 

These sellers are selling items they are or have obtained from either a site old originally by a now defunct Organisation called By the Bay Marketing owned by Anthony Nurse, now owner of www.autographstore.com.

All autographs from these Anthony Nurse sites are fakes and bad fakes at that. 

Sadly trade me do nothing about fakes unless they receive a letter or emails from the 

Josh,

Fantastic work! Thank you for all the time and effort you've been putting into your critically important investigation. 

A couple things need to be clarified:

You wrote:

"I have no problem with this guy being angry at my and others accusations about Anthony Nurse (Anthony Barone). In his email to me above, he brings up two very good points. One: what I'm saying is libelous. Yet, why hasn't Anthony contacted me, had a lawyer contact me, or even responded on these pages? Any "honest" or reputable business would clearly want to state that they're the real deal."

Josh, some people might think that you're agreeing that what you said is libelous, but what you said is only libelous if it is untrue. If it's true, it's not libelous, defamatory or slanderous unless you misrepresent or twist the truth. You may want to clarify that.

Secondly, if you haven't confirmed the names and actions of Anthony Nurse's alias, associates and suppliers you mentioned, you may want to say that. Some of the names and activities have already been mentioned on this site or elsewhere, but just to be fair until you know for sure.

That said, I'm familiar with Anthony Nurse and his companies, as well as Chris Reed and Autograph Czar, and I consider them all major players in the autograph forgery industry. 

Eye yeye yeye...Anthony Nurse, Oh Doctor!

Thanks for outing these scum bags..., I hope they all rot in a Turkish prison. Scratch Make a Wish Foundation off my List of Charities. I will never give them 1 red cent again until they lose these AWhole's. I'm sure they won't miss my whopping $1,000.00 I gave last year. After that story, I'd rather flush the money down the toilet or maybe even light your cigar Josh. Nice Job uncovering yet another d***** bag...I think it's a prerequisite in the autograph business.