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Need assistance verifying I have been scammed!

Help!! I know there have been many posts over the past year with regard to a man named Larry Goldberg, or formally Paul Miller, selling fake autographed guitars through Autograph Source, Inc. I, unfortunately are one of his victims. I purchased multiple guitars for my husband in June and have been battling with Mr. Goldberg ever since. I have been asked by American Express to provide proof from a qualified independent party that the items are not authentic. I am frustrated to find out this process is costly and without any guarantee I'll ever see my money again putting me deeper in the hole. I am located in NJ. Can anyone recommend a qualified party in the NY/NJ/PA area who can help me at a reasonable price provide documentation that the autographs are fakes? I would really appreciate some help. :-(

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Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 21, 2011 at 11:55am: Hi Tara,

I'm sorry to hear about the situation you're in. To make it clear to everyone, you're referring to Autograph Source Inc. in the Miami, Florida region, not The Autograph Source, owned by Rick Schultz, in Aspen, Colorado. They're top-notch.

In New Jersey you have JSA, James Spence Authentication http://www.spenceloa.com/. For music, they use Roger Epperson, who is our main rock autograph expert and highly respected...although you'll find a lot of negative info about him by the forgery industry, since he's their biggest threat.

Did your guitars come with any authentication papers or COAs? Did Mr. Goldberg mention any authenticators or suggest certain ones to be used?

Comment by Tara Quigley on September 21, 2011 at 1:14pm: Yes - I am referring to Autograph Source Inc in Miami FL. Mr. Goldberg was a very good con man and created a sense of urgency and it wasn't until after my purchase that I dug deeper into the credibility of the authentication companies. The certificates I received came from Elite Productions in Flushing NY and National Authentication Service in Baltimore. I left a voicemail for Roger Epperson earlier today hoping he could help me but have not heard back yet. I also spoke with PSA but they want $150 per item to certify they are in fact forgeries. I will contact JSA. Thanks for your help. This has been a painful process and a hard lesson learned.