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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 Sidney Fields on September 24, 2013 at 3:55pm: I love the phrasing here: "This item was signed in person by the aforementioned celebrity..."

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

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

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

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

Comment by BallroomDays67 on September 24, 2013 at 11:23pm: The George "signed" photo was removed by eBay and the seller subsequently re-listed it as a one day auction.

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

Comment by BallroomDays67 on October 10, 2013 at 9:54am: Another disaster from Charity Fundraising Packages. The seller states that he is attempting to recoup the original cost, and the BIN price is $4K.

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

Comment by Lori Ferrari on November 5, 2013 at 9:27am: I just wanted to thank you all for saving my reputation. I was on the phone with Anthony today - going through the list of items I wanted for my school's auction. We got to the The Thriller album signed by Michael Jackson; it was listed for only $550. Bells started going off in my head but I continued my call with him. I checked the BBB and found no complaints. It did a generic search for his charityfundraisingpackages.com site and didn't see any complaints. Then I did a more pointed query, "authentication issues charity fundraising packages" and bingo!

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

"Hi Lori,

Thanks for the update. Our pricing on items is 40% of their retail value, excluding guitars which are consigned at 1/3 of retail. How do we establish retail value in the marketplace? We base that on what our past charity partners have sold the items for.

Attached to this email is 10 testimonial letters from some of our charity partners if you would like to review. I have over 2,000 letters from charities, schools and non-profits.

Lori, would you like to speak to some of our current fundraising partners in Texas so you can ask them about how much money we raised for them and if they would use our service again? If, so just let me know and I would be more than happy to pass along their direct contact info to you.

I am available at 201-840-8777 if you would like to discuss. In any case I wish you the best of luck on the event and look forward to the possibility of supporting in the future."

I'm going to take a stab and say that the testimonial letters were written BEFORE the fraud was uncovered.

Here is another company that I presume is run by him as well? http://www.ascharityfundraising.com/

Comment by Rick Meyer on November 5, 2013 at 9:36am: Smart move. These crooks have been using charities to peddle forgeries for along time. Many that attend actually believe the items were donated by the celebrities rather than a junk peddler hiding behind the scenes.

Comment by Null on November 5, 2013 at 9:38am: Just read this blog. I am sick to my stomach. It is unreal what these forgers will do. Reminds me of "The Auto Scouts" who forge BIBLE INSCRIPTIONS on balls. There is a special place in hell for these people.

Comment by Josh Board on November 5, 2013 at 9:57am: Thank you so much for posting your story here, Lori. If you read my original post about this...I lost my VOLUNTEER job of 15 years with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, simply for telling my boss to stop using these forgeries. They were obvious to me they were forgeries (the autographs I'm familiar with...like the Paul/Ringo and Eagles albums, and Clapton guitar). What I love is that his defense is those testimonial letters. IF, and this is a big IF...the bands actually did provide these, he'd have photos of the bands signing them, dates they were signed, and the actual item in the photo being held by the stars. That's how the Grammy Auction does it, and they're legit. The stars are signing for charity, they understand that photos of them signing each specific item is imperative. Oh well. I contacted the FBI, they are looking into it...and the stories keep coming in. I'll do a much bigger story in the future.

Comment by Sidney Fields on November 5, 2013 at 10:31am: Very smart, Lori. Few people would have the instincts and sense (and maybe the desire) to do the search.

The Hackensack address may be an older one.

Comment by Lori Ferrari on November 5, 2013 at 11:46am: I think a more interesting question is (and those who have posted, please respond), did the victims contact the charity; and, after being notified, did the charity continue to use the same company?