Comment by Sidney Fields on November 5, 2013 at 12:29pm

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.

 

 

Comment by Josh Board on December 28, 2013 at 10:41pm

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.

Comment by Josh Board on December 28, 2013 at 10:46pm

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

Comment by Josh Board on December 28, 2013 at 11:18pm

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

CHAD REED.

Here's what it said: 

Hi Josh,

I thought you might find this information very helpful:

Anthony nurse is really Anthony Barone (formerly of NJ and possibly still). I do not know if he has legally changed his name.

He is known to associate with Chad Reed aka The Autograph Czar. Chad is a very talented forger and his work is so good on certain names that he can fool most anyone.

I do not know this for a fact so please do not state it but it is highly likely that Anthony is sourcing some or maybe even all of his autographs from Chris Reed. Chris is a collector who was based in NY/NJ but recently moved to the LA area. He actually obtains legit material but keeps it for himself and peddles fakes to make money.

I have attached screen grabs of Anthony's twitter feed in case he should ever delete or edit it. He was dumb enough to post his photo which is what clued me in to who he really is.

My only suggestion is that you keep all this information to yourself until it is needed for law enforcement purposes. I think it would be a bad idea to tip him off that you know who he really is.

https://twitter.com/AnthonyNurse

Good luck!

Comment by Josh Board on December 28, 2013 at 11:21pm

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

Well they collected in NYC together for quite some time. They were all part of the collector scene. All the old school NYC collectors know of their connection. Barone is not smart enough or talented enough to do this on his own.

The word on the street is Chris a very smart businessman and has made millions off his forgery sales. If you are on the west coast you might ask your LA based collector friends about Chris. People who know Chris personally and that have 'worked' for him report seeing proof on the transactions between him and Anthony Barone/Nurse.

I was talking about this the other day and someone chimed in and told me that they believe Kevin Martin who owns Pieces of the Past in Las Vegas also purchases forgeries from Chris Reed.

I also have to make a correction. Chris Reed is not actually the Autographczar. He just supplied them and let them use his proof photos to peddle the forgeries he supplied them with. They used to sell on eBay years ago but were removed from the site for selling bad material. I don't know if they are back.

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.

Comment by Josh Board on December 28, 2013 at 11:32pm

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

Comment by Josh Board on December 29, 2013 at 12:25am

 

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.

Comment by Josh Board on December 29, 2013 at 12:43am

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.

Comment by Josh Board on December 29, 2013 at 12:56am

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 

 

 

 

 

Comment by Cogo on December 29, 2013 at 3:23am

Very interesting and disturbing reading! Keep up the good work Josh!!

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• …
• 25
• Next ›
• Page