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12-Year Prison Sentence for $23 Million Sports Memorabilia Fraud Scheme

As reported in the Chicago Tribune (“Collector given 12 years in prison for selling phony sports memorabilia“), John Rogers of Arkansas received a long sentence following his 45-minute statement to the court asking for leniency, at one point stating “I don’t deserve a break, but I’m asking you for one”.  Rogers plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in March.  Judge Dirkin said his fraud scheme was “breathtaking” and that Rogers “literally told thousands of lies to honest people to have them part with their money”. [Read more…]

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Former Mastro Auctions President Doug Allen Sentenced To 57 Months In Federal Prison

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As mentioned last week, Federal prosecutors were seeking a four year prison sentence for Doug Allen, the former President of disgraced sports memorabilia auction house Mastro Auctions.  U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman went further than that in the case of shill bidding and fake memorabilia, sentencing Doug Allen to 57 months, a much stiffer sentence than the 20 months co-defendant Bill Mastro is serving.  Allen attempted to obstruct the FBI investigation after learning of it, which would seem to have earned him a longer prison sentence. [Read more…]

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Daily News Updates Their Ongoing Investigation on Mastro Auctions Fraud Case; Prosecutors Seek Four Year Prison Sentence for Doug Allen

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Michael O’Keeffe with the New York Daily News continues to chronicle the ongoing saga surrounding Mastro Auctions and the Justice Department’s prosecution of principals from the sports memorabilia auction house, based on the FBI investigation that began in 2007.  Yesterday, prosecutor filed papers with the Chicago federal court seeking a 57 month prison term for former Mastro Auctions president, Doug Allen, as a result of his “outright contempt” for law enforcement. [Read more…]

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Bill Mastro of Mastro Auctions Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Shill Bidding & Fraud

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The New York Daily News continues to take the lead in the mainstream media on the story about “disgraced sports memorabilia pioneer” Bill Mastro, Founder and CEO of Mastro Auctions, which shut down in 2009 during the FBI investigation.  In the ongoing saga, he plead guilty to shill bidding and mail fraud and admitted to trimming/altering a high value trading card to increase it’s value. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman sentenced Mastro to 20 months in prison; NY Daily News reports the judge was “troubled by the fact that Mastro had destroyed bidding records after learning the FBI had launched an investigation into fraud…“. [Read more…]

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Mastro Auctions Scandal: Bill Mastro Pleads Guilty To Fraud & Altering Memorabilia; Faces Up To Five Years in Prison

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The New York Daily News lead mainstream media reports yesterday about “disgraced sports memorabilia kingpin” Bill Mastro of Masto Auctions plead guilty to mail fraud and admitted to trimming/altering a high value trading card to increase it’s value.  Mastro will be sentenced by U.S. District Court  Judge Ronald A. Guzman, and faces up to five years in prison. [Read more…]

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New York Daily News Update on Mastro Auctions Scandal: Bill Mastro To Plead Guilty To Fraud, Altering Memorabilia

As the latest significant update to this ongoing high profile memorabilia auction house fraud scandal, the lead journalists covering the story for the New York Daily News today reports that William Mastro of Mastro Auctions will be changing his plea to guilty on one fraud count, and will admit that he “altered the world’s most valuable trading card, a Honus Wagner T206 that has fetched millions of dollars in a series of high-profile transactions”.  It’s last sale was to Ken Kendrick, the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who paid $2.8 million for the baseball card.  Mastro originally purchased the card for $25,000. [Read more…]

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Judge Sentences eBay Entertainment Memorabilia Dealer to over 8 years in Federal Prison and Orders to Pay Nearly $175,000 in Restitution to Victims

As reported on last year (see “eBay Entertainment Memorabilia Dealer Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges in U.S. District Court“), eBay entertainment memorabilia dealer David Bruce Shyrock plead guilty to fraud charges in federal after defrauding over 1,200 eBay users out of nearly $175,000 by selling memorabilia with forged autographs on the popular online auction website.  Today, the Joplin, Missouri man was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr to eight years and four months in federal prison without parole.  The court also ordered Shyrock to pay $174,894 in restitution to his victims.  [Read more…]

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FBI Press Release: “Three Men Plead Guilty to Fraud Involving Sports Memorabilia”

As reported by various mainstream media outlets this week (New York Daily News original report, NY Daily News follow-up, Forbes, WREX-13), several memorabilia dealers plead guilty this week to fraud charges related to the sale of “game worn” sports jerseys.  Sentencing is scheduled for May 2012, and each maul fraud charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines.  Though a different class of memorabilia from television and film, it is always encouraging to see the FBI direct attention to any sort of memorabilia fraud, as it is very prevalent in all collecting areas. [Read more…]