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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 goodcat on January 6, 2018 at 2:10pm: it's back on the rails now terrier8HOF

Steve's input is well appreciated

carry on

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 6, 2018 at 2:40pm: Glad to hear it, Goodcat. Like you, Fudd PMed me an hour or so ago.

I'd like members to keep in mind that typed messages are the most perfect form of MIScommunication, especially in discussion comments, IMs and texts. It's easy to say something that can be taken the wrong way.

I'd also appreciate members doing their best to avoid conflicts. Arguing a topic or autograph is one thing. Do it to your heart's content—we count on it! But do your best to be civil and respectful, and always work to deescalate conflicts.

I try to moderate with a light touch, and I generally can, because Autograph Live is a community where most members are focused on the same goal: making collecting safer and more rewarding. Days or weeks can go by before any moderation is needed.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the members of this site and what you try to do. You may have no idea how important what you do is.

Did you know that at least 97% of the people who read AML, often regularly, only read it and don't join? They join if the want to ask questions or contribute to the conversation. There's no reason to join otherwise, because 99.99% of the content outside PMs and IMs is publicly visible to anyone, member or not. We're not a high-traffic site outside of autographs, but several hundred thousand different people visit us in the course of a year.

What you do matters, and helps protect autograph collectors everywhere.

Thank you.

Comment by Mike Shepherd on January 6, 2018 at 2:49pm: I have been following this blog for a long time. I did not feel the need to reply until now, because Xwiesy disrespected Chewie. Good grief. This bickering is pointless. We can all understand what transpired here, and some may even suspect more than meets the eye. I will leave it at that. Steve, keep up the good work. May the Force be with you all.

Comment by Xwiesy on January 6, 2018 at 3:04pm: I disrespected Chewie lol...

Dude that is the post of the year.

hey is this Chewbacca autograph real? Doesnit matter? There are 90,000 out there with 300 conventions scheduled...

Thanks for the laugh, Mike.

Comment by Xwiesy on January 6, 2018 at 3:08pm: If we can add that an Alan Rickman signature is worth $10 but $6000 on Harry Potter that would be awesome.

Best thread ever on AML.

Disrespected Chewie. My ribs are hurting.

Comment by Mike Shepherd on January 6, 2018 at 3:35pm: I could not resist. Glad you enjoyed it, Xwiesy. I still say this bickering is pointless. Very sad.

Comment by Ian Baldock on January 6, 2018 at 5:58pm: This has been a great read.!Thanks to all the great members here! I also believe the autograph "world" is in a bad state. Forgeries everywhere! Thank the lord (and Steve Cyrkin)for sites like AML to help people out! Adam can tell you Racc does the same thing tossing scammers right and left,some as young as 14! Its never ending! Only curses can describe how I feel about some of these people,I hope there's a special section in Hell for owners of the businesses mentioned here!

Comment by Eric Keith Longo on January 6, 2018 at 6:33pm: Agreed - wonderful thread!

Comment by sling on January 6, 2018 at 7:43pm: yes, i was guy who bought revolver, cause caiazza lawsuit which involved a huge amount of legal expenses, and which lead to a huge fraud business, American Royal arts, to go out of business

oh well, sometimes it goes that way,,,,,,,

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on January 7, 2018 at 7:56am: Sling...WOW.

So you're one who got the ball rolling that ended up in ARA destroying itself.

I never saw American Royal Arts sales numbers, but they had about 6 galleries in Florida and a very active telemarketing business. They could have easily done $2,000,000 a month in business.

You helped prevent probably $200,000,000 or so in forgeries being sold by them.

Frank Caiazzo went through hell, but that wasn't your fault. Cooper-Owen should not have sent Frank's opinion email to you without his approval, since he was working for the auction house, not you. He was advising them.

ARA, and ARA owner owner Jerry Gladstone, settled with Frank, paying him all his legal fees and costs and then some from what I understand.