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Did You Purchase an Item from Anthony Nurse or Charity Fundraising Packages? Please Let me Know...

I saw items at an auction recently that I believe to be forgeries. I'm in the process of trying to figure out if they are real or not, and would like to hear from others on experiences they've had with Anthony Nurse or his company -- Charity Fundraising Packages.

I remember being at a party 15 years ago, and somebody had a signed "Hotel California" album by the Eagles. It was fake, and I knew it was. I asked the guy how he acquired it. He told me an auction for his sons school. I didn't have the heart to tell him.

So, when I saw another fake Hotel California album at this auction, it made me cringe.

Anyway...please contact me if you purchased a forgery or ANYTHING from this company -- and I'll see if Steve and Roger can help me authenticate these items, and we'll move into the next steps involved (if, in fact, they are forged items).

It's bad enough if forged items are sold to unsuspecting people, but to do it in the name of a charity is just despicable.

(and a website that shows generic pictures of bands signing for 50 fans doesn't prove anything...neither does a photo of Anthony Nurse standing by Rod Stewart at a book signing).

At book signings, they don't let you bring albums, cds, or guitars. They sign THE BOOK ONLY. And having a photo taking with somebody, doesn't make any autographed item you sell "authentic." Most people don't realize that.

Anyway....contact me at: joshboard87@gmail.com

Thank you!

(or post your stories on this thread)

Tags: Anthony Nurse, Charity Fundraising Packages, Forgery, autograph authenticity, charity auctions, fake autographs

4 members like this

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on December 29, 2013 at 9:08am: 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.

Comment by Fuddjcal on December 29, 2013 at 9:31am: 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.

Comment by Sidney Fields on December 29, 2013 at 10:12am: 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.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on December 29, 2013 at 10:59am: 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

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on December 29, 2013 at 11:03am: Here's a 2010 blog about Autograph Store from 2010:

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

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 2, 2014 at 12:21pm: 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

Comment by Josh Board on January 2, 2014 at 3:26pm: 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.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 2, 2014 at 8:18pm: 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.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 2, 2014 at 8:50pm: 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.

Comment by Josh Board on January 6, 2014 at 1:04am: 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.