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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 terrier8HOF on September 5, 2016 at 8:51am: as word gets out about this, more people that got screwed will come forward.

Comment by CJCollector on September 5, 2016 at 8:55am: Excellent point, Rick, about John House and AtAuction.

It's where it all started!!!

Comment by Richard S. Simon on September 5, 2016 at 9:08am: It is such a shame that so many people who are just plain scum bags infiltrate our great hobby. For some people it is only about $$$ and they will do crooked things without batting an eye and hope they do not get caught. Hopefully this law suit will act as a deterrent to future scum bags.

Comment by terrier8HOF on September 5, 2016 at 9:14am: I couldn't agree more, Richard. But the penalty has to be strong enough to be a deterrent. otherwise, it becomes a risk/reward issue and the rewards with these scumbags, win out. They have to be hit with serious financial penalties and jail time for it to make any difference.

Comment by CJCollector on September 5, 2016 at 9:16am: Looks like Ebay seller Rbisportsinc is still selling GFA-certed forgeries.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=fa&_ssn=rbisportsinc&h...

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 5, 2016 at 12:33pm: This lawsuit is great news. Daniel Odobas is a hero for filing this suit. Just a clarification: I

A clarification: While at least one of the articles says Antiquities' owner Toby Stoffa was personally sued, she's not listed in the court records I saw as a defendant. Stephen Rocchi and Drew Max were personally sued, however:

https://www.clarkcountycourts.us/Anonymous/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=1...

Comment by Don Webster on September 5, 2016 at 12:35pm: I've been in Toby's shop many times...and have had many occasions to talk with her and say hello. And while I'm no expert it was painfully obvious to me what they were up to...

I am in no way surprised that she is about to be challenged...

I hope the plaintiff has deep pockets (I suspect he does) and the patience to see this through...

I wish him well...

Comment by Bill Fraser on September 5, 2016 at 12:35pm: This needs to be on TV news programs so more people would be informed. Probably a lot of tourists bought one item because they loved it and don't follow autograph websites. If not, they may never find out.

Comment by Richard S. Simon on September 5, 2016 at 1:07pm: I did not realize the Toby referred to was a woman. So nice to see that autograph thievery is an equal opportunity employer :(. I hope she gets financially ruined in this lawsuit. We can only hope this guy is really, really angry and wants his pound of flesh from all these crooks.

Comment by Richard S. Simon on September 5, 2016 at 1:09pm: Seeing that some of these thieves are personally sued puts a song in my heart. Hit the thieves where it hurts, right in the $$$$$.

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