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Antiquities Caesars Palace, GFA/Stephen Rocchi and AAU/Drew Max Sued for Autograph Fraud

According to the Courthouse News Service, Mr. Daniel Odobas has filed a lawsuit against Antiquities Of Nevada (Toby Stoffa), Drew Max (Authentic Autographs Unlimited) and Stephen Rocchi (Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators for "Fraud, Deceptive, Trade, Misrepresentation, Unjust Enrichment, Conspiracy, Bad Faith, Breach Of Contract and Breach Of Warranty."

Immediately below are links to the story.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/08/30/vegas-memorabilia-house-ac...

http://www.inquisitr.com/3472565/vegas-antiques-and-memorabilia-dea...

In my opinion, this was a long time coming.

Drew Max of Authentic Autographs Unlimited, gives himself the title of Forensic Document Examiner (FDE).

What in the world does "Forensics" have anything to do with autographs?

Very, very rarely in my opinion.

I don't know of any Forensic Document Examiner who knows sports or music autographs

It is also important to know that COAs and LOAs issued by Forensic Document Examiners or by authentication companies that use them, are much less likely to be genuine.

I have yet to see an authentic autograph of Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams with a COA from Drew Max (AAU).

Not one.

Just below is a link to a thread I wrote on Drew Max and one of his performances on the Pawn Stores show as he Forensically Examined an FDR "Letter To Clergy."

http://live.autographmagazine.com/profiles/blogs/drew-max-forensic-...

Then, of course, there is Stephen Rocchi and his Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators (GFA) group.

In the six years since Rocchi started GFA, I have yet to see one authentic Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams or Joe DiMaggio autograph with a COA from GFA (Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators).

Also, since when does a Forensic Examination only cost $25.00?

Rocchi does all of the below for $25.00 and still can't get it right.

From Rocchi's website. Seriously?

You do not need "Forensics" to determine if an autograph is authentic or not.

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/ebay-mantle-dimaggio...

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/joe-dimaggio-forgeri...

http://live.autographmagazine.com/forum/topics/roger-maris-forgerie...

Just below is a typical Mickey Mantle forgery on a baseball with a COA from Stephen Rocchi and Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators.

It can be opined in less than one second as a forgery.

What is Rocchi thinking when he issues a COA for the below Mantle forgery?

Rocchi (Guaranteed Forensic Authenticators) has certed dozens of the below set of Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris forgeries on a reproduced Safe At Home poster.

A real authenticator would laugh and dismiss this garbage in a millisecond, but Rocchi has certed dozens of these as authentic.

These are, at best, laughable.

When will all of this "Forensic" madness finally end?

Tags: aau, antiquities, caesars palace, drew max, forgeries, fraud, gfa, lawsuit, pawn stars, rocchi, More…toby stoffa

9 members like this

Comment by Xwiesy on January 3, 2018 at 9:10am: Christopher- was it the money they were losing or other reasons?

Were they worried about getting sued? Were they worried that this volunteer group probably couldn't be experts on every single celebrity autograph? Were they worried about authenticator bias, which we see all the time in this hobby?

Ebay has enough money. I doubt 6 people in a room pulling forgeries was putting a dent in anything...

I don't mean to be flip- I want these folks put out of business, but I've been asking that for 30 years.

And I'll be asking that in another 30, God willing. Because the only way to not get ripped off is to buy smart and even then this hobby is dangerous.

This hobby ain't for the faint-hearted, that's for sure. Every collector should have 5 or 6 questions they ask themselves before pulling the trigger. Every. Time.

Comment by CJCollector on January 3, 2018 at 9:19am: I'm still going to expose them and rant about them.

I just can't sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

Comment by Xwiesy on January 3, 2018 at 9:25am: Chris, yes. Yes, you should.

You/We are part of educating people. We agree.

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on January 3, 2018 at 9:52am: I expect the only person who will look after my interest first...well, only I can prevent forest fires. I do think collectors have a responsibility. They are spending. I don't expect any other auction house to "save" me with art, coins...why this? When IS it a good idea to buy with another eye or to rely solely on papers/others opinions? Some folks I talk to just want "...is it real or not!?" and say "I don't care about that!" when speaking of the work, the why (or why not). You can't take a shortcut in my experience in any area of collecting. Well, you can, but everyone I know that has lost $ has taken those routes. Some folks will continue to make arguments for bad sellers, bad graphs, "certificates/stickers", bad "proof" photos that show nothing and unrealistic material. Some folks believe you can NEVER ever know unless you see it signed yourself. Others think you can buy $1200 items in broad daylight regularly for $19.50.

If I had to condense everything - if I could say just one word to prospective buyers/collectors - I really want to say "self-education" but I am going to say GOOGLE

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on January 3, 2018 at 9:58am: +3 Xw!

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 3, 2018 at 11:24am: I agree with you, Goodcat. The victims aren't to blame.

Comment by Michael on January 3, 2018 at 12:45pm: Hindsight has 20/20. Dan is a champ for taking these people on and sticking with the claim as long as he did because yes, suing from Canada is harder! Oddly, the Defendants issued a press release after the settlement, vindicating themselves. Theirs is a slimy business, grounded in fake credibility and Dan got the closest yet to burning them!

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on January 3, 2018 at 12:54pm: My comment was general - not at Dan. Hindsight has nothing to do with someone thinking they are buying a signed Andy Warhol drawing for $18.75 in broad daylight and that type of delusion is often part of the problem.

Comment by Xwiesy on January 3, 2018 at 1:41pm: Led Zeppelin VI completely signed for $2500 including framing!

Sure, sue. Or do some homework...like 5 minutes of homework.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 3, 2018 at 5:22pm: Antiquities issued a press release after they settled the case claiming they were vindicated, attached.

Antiquities%20Odobas%20Press%20Release.pdf

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