Comment by Josh Board on October 31, 2020 at 9:21am

And, as I initially told the Make a Wish Foundation (before they "fired" me from my volunteer position for alerting them to this) -- what benefit does a company like Charity Fundraiser have, if...they get these items signed, and...for what? Selling a signed Zeppelin guitar for $1,000 at a charity, when it took you hours and hours of waiting around to get it signed, and you could sell it for $10,000 online yourself, but...you're having a real charity auction it for $1,000 and splitting the money with them. It makes absolutely no sense as a business model, UNLESS the items are forged, which is what they are. And, people get duped because...if you're not a serious collector, you don't know all the things involved in forgeries, and how Jimmy Page hasn't signed guitars (or anything that isn't a book on his website), in decades. You just assume it's a charity, so they had access to the stars that we don't. What bothered me about Make a Wish doing this is...people know that one of their big things is having kids with terminal illnesses meet famous people, so they assume the items are signed at those events. But they aren't. Charity Fundraiser just brings their forged product, and they're glad to auction them off.

Comment by Mike R. on October 31, 2020 at 9:58am

Thanks again Josh. You've been really helpful throughout this. When they emailed me yesterday afternoon and it wasn't to say a refund was coming I made many of the same points you highlighted above. I really gave them a chance to make this right but I'm doubtful they'll have anything different to say next week. If that's the case, I'll have to cut off future support to the charity which is a shame as I've supported it in the past and they do great work in our state. 

Comment by Josh Board on October 31, 2020 at 10:06am

What always baffles me with these stories is ... we ALL love the work the charities do. But, when it comes to refunds, they panic. They see this as a house of cards falling. They're thinking of all the items auctioned off, the thousands and thousands they made, and they panic. They don't realize that it's going to be worse if we all start making noise, and then others find out they got fake items, etc. When instead, they should try to make everyone happy and get to the bottom of it all.

Comment by BW Unlimited Chariy Fundraising on October 31, 2020 at 11:23am

Mike R and Josh 

It blows my mind that everyone here isn't going to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney.  It blows my mind that these incredibly long thread isn't getting more attention or ranked directly underneath their site.  As a "Charity Fundraiser" who shouldn't be confused with (Josh) "Charity Fundraising" the company, I have stood back and watched for years and years as endless charities are defrauded.  I've posted, wrote blogs warning charities and posted the "Inside Edition" show - however, nothing is being done.  

I am 100% positive they are reading this.  I am friends with Steve Cyrkin as well as many others who post here.  All know my reputation and the types of items we provide - ONLY JSA, PSA/DNA, Beckett, Fanatics etc. authenticated.  I welcome every one, I don't care who it is to come and see my operation.  

It amazes me also how they never show faces or post names on anything they do including social media or on their very own website.  I stopped watching them a very long time ago.

Mike R., I am friends with the founder of Make-A-Wish and I bet he doesn't know this.  I am going to call him as soon as I am finished this.  

All of us, need to put pressure on the New Jersey prosecutors as well as law enforcement both instate and federally.  

It's a laugh that they NEVER EVER run out of items like Muhammed Ali gloves.  If you are in the Sports Memorabilia business, you know how ridiculously expensive Lebron and Michael Jordan autographs are and NEVER on the same item - you would have to take a mortgage out on your house.  And now even Kobe autographs lol.  Legends signed helmets including Tom Brady?  Seroiusly?  A Tom Brady Helmet alone wholesales for nearly $2k.  

Mike R. - DO NOT JUST LAY DOWN !!! Raise hell.  Call your newspaper etc.  Raise holy hell !!!  

Here is why charities won't do anything - because it will hurt them if they say anything.  Plus if they give back the money and tell the buyer that the item is allegedly counterfeit, how does that make them look?  What will their supporters think?  Companies like Charity Fundraising know that and they know they'll quietly slip by as they have for years.

Comment by Rick Meyer on October 31, 2020 at 11:58am

Most of these charities using item from places like this have been alerted to the forgeries they sell. Many just don’t care. Competition for donations among many of these places where the folks they raising money for hardly see much of it.

Another tough part of this is The going back and forth on authenticity of something with someone who just days, weeks, months or in some cases years ago that was so uneducated in authenticity that they were duped into buying it in the first place. They will just argue it’s a differing of opinions between Authenticators or they will give you PSA and Beckett are blackballing this authenticator cause they fear the are taking the market. Blah blah blah.

hope you get your money back. It’s sad that this still goes on without repercussions.

Comment by Josh Board on October 31, 2020 at 12:09pm

I spent 30 minutes on the phone with a woman from the FBI. She bought a bunch of hockey items for her husband, and wondered if those were fake -- but, she said there's not a lot they can do. I forget the reasons why, now. It's a shame. But yes, contact Make a Wish founder, and anyone else you can think of.

Comment by Sidney Fields on October 31, 2020 at 12:16pm

There's not much law enforcement can do because they have to get an Assistant US Attorney involved. They have to provide enough proof to win a criminal case...and that means proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  A "he said" battle between dueling authenticators usually isn't good enough.

But...I've argued...state Attorneys General and others should be able to file civil lawsuits against practitioners of fraud...where the standard of proof is just the preponderance of the evidence. More likely than not.

That's enough to force refunds and put some of these characters out of business.

The issue becomes manpower, time and resources. A big investment. Law enforcement doesn't seem to realize the huge amount of money involved.

Comment by Mike R. on November 9, 2020 at 10:47am

I'd like to thank everyone for their help and advice, especially Josh and George. The charity management firm did refund my money last week. 

Comment by Josh Board on November 9, 2020 at 7:40pm

Yes!!! Chalk one up for the good guys.

Comment by Sidney Fields on November 10, 2020 at 4:28am

Congratulations, Mike.

By the way...who was the "authenticator" on your item?

RM Real?

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