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. 

Josh:

Impressive effort. 

One line from the company is especially interesting: "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."

The bottom line always seems to be the same:  people who sell fakes cannot demonstrate the provenance of their items. 
There's always some story or some vague (or even doctored) photo.  But never any concrete proof.  And if your business is selling autographs, shouldn't you have concrete proof?  So, just for example, couldn't you have two person teams, one to get the item signed and the other to roll a little phone video?

And Steve's points, as usual, are important.  One little tweak. Something is "defamatory" if it is a negative comment.  So something can be true, and still be defamatory.  I can say, " Jose Canseco's homerun totals are tainted by his steroid use."  That statement is both defamatory and true.

A statement does need to be defamatory in order to be libelous.  But being defamatory in and of itself means nothing.  The statement also needs to be false and cause harm.  And it's the plaintiff's burden to demonstrate all that.

That said, there's nothing in our alleged "justice system" to prevent a schnook from suing even if he's a fraud or even if some statement about him is 100% true.  Some characters may do it to try to silence critics with exhorbitant legal expenses.

Here's a link to a discussion about Autograph Store forgeries posted in 2011. Not sure if it was posted before:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/autograph-store

Here's a 2010 blog about Autograph Store from 2010:

http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/autograph-store-and

Josh,

A reliable source that read your blog told me that you're on target about Barone but not about Keltner. They said he hasn't dealt with Barone since about 2005 and he's not a forger. Unless you have solid proof he is, I think he should be deleted from this blog. I think you can edit it out as the author of this blog, but if not, I'd like to.

If your confidential source wants to talk with me and make his case, them it can be posted again if it adds up.

Please LMK your thoughts.

Thanks

I'm not sure who Keltner is, I am just going by what somebody told me, and I think my post says as much. If this Keltner wants to chime in, let him. He can explain WHAT he did with Anthony Nurse (anthony barone), and how he's no longer working with him or for him, and it'll all be settled. Just as Anthony Nurse (anthony barone) can chime in on anything he disagrees with. And, I'd welcome hearing from any of the charities that have used these forgers in the past, stating that they won't in the future. Until that time, I say we don't support ANY of the charities that have testimonial letters on his website.

Josh,

On Sunday you posted a comment that included this:

"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"

That's the standard PSA/DNA rejection letter and it means the autograph shows one or more of the signs of forgery mentioned in the letter. Their rejection letters don't list the specific reason why they think an autograph is fake. You may want to tell the charity this.

Josh,

Anthony Barone (AKA Anthony Nurse) of www.AutographStore.com and www.ASCharityFundraising.com, which is now www.CharityGrow.com, is a well-known seller of forgeries through charities and in the regular market.

Chris Reed and Chad Reed are the same person. Chris Reed is the owner of www.AutographCzar.com, which may have never offered a genuine autograph for sale. Chris is a very well-known source of forgeries.

The person who told you Keltner was involved said that he was sending tons of Anthony Nurse/Barone's forgeries to PSA/DNA and JSA. But we've all seen how bad those forgeries are, so does that sound believable to you?

You're a journalist, so you know how unfairly damaging something published can be if it isn't true. And it is even if the person written about comes online to defend himself.

I feel it's only right that I delete his name from the comments at this time. When you have proof that he is forging or fencing forgeries, or if those making such claims will step out from the shadows and be identified, then I think it's fair to publish those accusations. But until then, I have to take them down.

Sounds good, Steve. I did just receive this email: 

My logic is always this…if somebody doesn’t like a claim a person makes, they can come on here and explain themselves. We don’t need goofy lawsuit threats. If you run an honest business, you’ll have no problem coming on here and explaining it all.

I’ve basically come to the conclusion that, if you wanted to make money selling autographs, basically, at some point, these various companies will deal with forgeries. Otherwise, they won’t make money. You can’t pay a person to stand outside Letterman’s theatre, or a restaurant or airport, with a bunch of 8 x 10s, and think Slash is going to sign them all. He’ll sign a few and bounce, and the forgers will sign the rest. They’ll possibly take a few photos of him signing, as “proof” that the others are real.

Now, I just received the following email (I changed the wording a bit, as I don’t want to reveal their identity). They said:

“Keltner is very good covering his tracks unlike Nurse, who sells under his own name. Keltner has lawyers that also sue at a moments notice. It’ll be difficult to get anyone to speak against him if they are one of the many in the business benefiting financially. I myself can’t afford the lawsuit, but the truth will come out. You aren’t the only one investigating. Be careful what you share on the website. They are all intertwined. Don’t be fooled thinking that third party authenticators are the hobby’s police. They can be the worst offenders. Who pays the bills – people like Nurse and Keltner submitting 1000s of items at a time, or an average Joe getting his card graded.”

That, was a very good point this person made.

Josh,

No lawyer representing Keltner has threatened us with a lawsuit. I haven't heard from Kelter or anyone representing him. Your secret source has presented no evidence that Keltner is forging or submitting forgeries to JSA or PSA/DNA and they're accepting them.

And again...how many forgeries have you seen like the ones Nurse sells certified by PSA/DNA or JSA? According to your source they're submitting thousands at a time. Where are they? Why isn't Nurse offering any of them on his websites?

Get evidence and preferably witnesses who will come forward. Otherwise it's not right to drag this guy through the mud.

Wow. Talk about putting a new light on Make A wish, absolutely absurd ! I'm sorry that happened Josh. I must tell you how jealous I am that you know the Lamberts. Lol  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Adam and was livid when he didn't win Idol. Very happy for him and his success.

We reached out to CFP several times last year since the below email we sent went unanswered - when we finally did get Anthony on the phone to discuss, we were told CFP does not sell to people like us and PSA is not the real deal and hung up. When we called back, CFP hung up again after identfying ourselves. We are not advocating or diminishing PSA here - not the intent -just wanted to share our experience with CFP so others could see. And we still see many charities / benefits using this company.

Dan,

Thank you for taking the time to post that. Yes, that's been their problem all along. They simply can't answer normal questions that a business of this nature would be able to. When I talked to the Make-a-Wish people about this, and he sent back these goofy answers to my questions (none of which answered the questions about authenticity), Make-a-Wish had the logic that....they answered them good enough to their satisfaction. People bought the items, they both made money, and nobody complained. Their logic was...why do I even care? 

Rhonda -- I don't know Adam Lambert. I only know his dad, Eber. When I met him years and years ago, Adam was living with his ex-wife, so I never knew him. Yet I did have the fun of enjoying Thanksgiving dinner there while Adam was texting his dad about how he quit the show Wicked in Los Angeles to go try his hand at American Idol (his dad thought it was the wrong decision....hahahahah).

Lastly, I've received a few more emails from people that have purchased fakes from Anthony and Charity Fundraising Packages. It's more stuff we can provide to the FBI, and to get the word out on this disgusting company.

Let me also state, for the record -- I LOVE the Make-a-Wish Foundation and what they do for kids fighting terminal illness. If you have donated money to them in the past, please...continue to do so. I just don't like how the local chapter in San Diego handled a company dealing in forged autographs, once they were alerted to it. I also don't like that the main offices haven't contacted Charity Fundraising Packages, and DEMANDED that their testimonial letter on the CFP website be taken down immediately.

Hi everyone, this is an INCREDIBLY SAD situation. In response to Steve's point "I don't know what else can be done" ... we had a similar situation here in NZ approx 2 years ago when a charity fund-raiser sold a "signed", framed piece from Tiger Woods with a "PSA" sticker on the back. Not only was the autograph and absolute shocker but the PSA sticker bore little resemblance to the real thing!!

When I was shown the piece (by the then proud buyer) it took about two seconds (generous) to realise that this was a shocker.

What I advised the buyer to do was to inform the fund-raising organisation of his suspicions and to let them know that he was going to contact two independent TPAs for their opinions and he did just that. No surprises that both PSA and JSA came back and said "not authentic".

Armed with those two professional opinions the buyer took the item back to the fund-raiser and pleasantly but firmly demanded his money back.

The charity concerned did not want this matter to go public for fear that it would have repercussions for their future fund-raising and so returned his money in full.

At the time we were advised that, here in NZ, the sale of fraudulent memorabilia (albeit "in good faith") is an offense under "The Trades Description Act" and failure to adequately check the item and provide "an accurate" description is no defense.

My point is ... I feel that until sufficient people research the items they have bought at these charity fund-raisers and, if rejected by more than one, reputable and proven TPA, complain to the charity and demand their money back ... this horrid situation isn't going to stop.

In turn, the charities will need to go back to the source of the items and - in their turn - complain and stop dealing with these <*******> (insert your own choice of word) !!

Only when enough duped supporters do this can we hope to see this situation improve ... but I'm not holding my breath while I wait for sufficient numbers of those wonderful charity supporters act :(

For what it is worth, those are my thoughts :)

Happy and safe collecting to everyone, best wishes

David

One way to get their attention is to contact U.S. Postal inspector if they are sending items through USPS, also you can contact FBI fraud division. Anyone remember operation Bullpen?

Just came across this ebay store all items come with a coa from Anthony Nurse.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Keith-Richards-Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-8x1...

For the record if the Keltner that is mentioned happens to be B. Keltner from South Carolina (and has an office in NYC) it is highly unlikely that he is forging anything. I've known him for many years now and he is mainly a buyer. Do I think he may have bought items that weren't authentic and submitted them to JSA and/or PSA/DNA? absolutely. Do I think he knows or knew they were forgeries? absolutely not. He may of had a feeling that they could possibly have been forgeries and that is why he submitted them but I highly doubt that it was a part of any forgery ring. I've known Keltner for many years and have never heard a bad thing about him or him dealing with forgeries knowingly. I think we've all bought forgeries at some point in our life as I'm sure he has but I don't think he resells forgeries knowingly.

That's just my personal opinion on Keltner.

rule of thumb most charity auctions the autographs are fake if u want to donate fine give them the money and take the chance but if u think its legit it is not 

Hi there. I bought  a couple of bits. One was a Johnny Depp stating it was signed at an art gallery. Ok fair enough they could of caught him leaving a gallery.  But then there were more and more Depps all signed at the gallery on the same day.  Which was suspicious.  Another was a Bowie where the date given did not match the year signed on the front (As you know Bowie always gives a year).  They used to display the date and place with the auction details but they now keep that private. I assume because it was becoming too obvious.  I've stayed away since. Regards. Darren Coldwell.

This reminds me of Charlton Heston Secretary autographed everything for him.

The BB and the Eric are really bad

Josh,

I was at a charity event in Pittsburgh over the weekend and they had some signed posters and pictures listed up for auction.  One that caught my attention was the Walking Dead picture since my wife and I are huge fans.  I did a quick eBay look to see what autographs go for, and decided that the price was okay, so I would bid.  I mean, what could go wrong?  It's authentic right?

When I got home, I decided to do some research on CFP authentications and could find zilch on the name.  When I did a phone lookup on the address for CFP Authentications, it gave me a list of individual's names and apartment numbers.  I called the place that hosted the event and they gave me the name of Charity Fundraising Packages, which eventually brought me here. 

Most of the signatures look authentic, but I am now worried that they are not.

I am attaching a picture for your review and opinion.

Stephen we will probably need close up pictures of the autographs in order to analyze them, but from what I can see the Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus do not look authentic AT ALL! 

the picture seems a bit fishy to me also where is the Fake  auto graph dealer is he from the New england Area?

Darryl P,

Please upload larger photos of your item and COA. Most are too small to give opinions on. The Pacino is, though, and that doesn't look genuine to me. I'm quite sure it isn't.

Stephen,

Please upload larger, clearer images. Thanks

There are 11 "autographs" in all, so let me start with the first two that I found suspicious.

Strangely enough the first two that got me to questioning the authenticity were the signatures of Madison Lintz and Chandler Riggs.

Madison Lintz:

Chandler Riggs:

I have also gone online and cut examples of their official autographs and have three types of each, and from what I can see, they don't look right.  They both look too...neat.

By the way, sorry for the glare.  The glass on the frame makes it hard to capture.  I have pictures of the other signatures as well, but figured I would start with (in my opinion) the two most obvious.

That Chandler Riggs looks nothing like any signature of his I have seen. FAR too neat, don't even have to look past the first "C". He signs like a shaky kid... 

These look like same hand sigs IMO.

Apparently the people employed there to acquire autographs may be in the back room signing stuff themselves!

Hey guys. Just got tuned into this thread because of the Anthony Nurse authenticated autograph I saw on Ebay that went for $265. I thought it was a fake and decided to do some research and found this thread. 

Regarding my autographed "The Godfather" poster from my Feb 27th comment, here are four close ups (Pacino, Coppola, Shire, and Caan) of the six total autographs.  Real or Fake?  I think I already know the answer...

Thanks, Darryl. The Pacino is definitely not genuine in my opinion. I'll leave the others for members more knowledgeable than me to opinine on. LMK if you don't get responses by tomorrow.

Hi Darryl, very sorry but those signatures from Ms Shire and Mr Caan are, in my humble opinion, not genuine :( Letter structure and formation in both those is, I'll be polite, very atypical. Cheers, David.

I picked this up last week at Phil Wiess auctions... any thoughts? Thanks, Rob

http://http://weissauctions.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=6845&...

Here's another link:

http://weissauctions.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=6845&weid=0&...

This Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band guitar is not genuine. No doubt about that. Try to return it as soon as possible and get a refund.

I agree with Bjarne...I don't think the guitar is genuine. Philip Weiss is a respectable auction house and tries to only offer legitimate and properly represented material. But while they auction autographs, they're not a specialty. I don't think they have an autograph expert look at them in most cases...but I could be wrong. 

Weiss gives you two weeks to raise authenticty concerns, so as Bjarne says...contact them by email right away.

thanks all, I've already written them. I only received it last week. I'll let you all know how they handle it. 

They said if it doesn't pass authentication, they would accept it back and issue a full refund. I've bought from them for over 30 years, they've always been great to deal with. 

Contact Pam at gotta have it, they would know

Please try and contact Pam at www.gottahaveit.com

I'm having Roger Epperson look at it. 

Roger says :

I do not believe this is authentic, it appears to have been signed all in the same hand.  It most likely came from Walls of Fame as it looks like the ones they sell.