As a brief update to the fraud revelations in the original movie poster/one sheet/lobby card collecting hobby – as reported on in the Fall of last year – yesterday a report surfaced on the MOvie POster “MoPo” Mailing List from a member who claims to have been contacted by the FBI with regards to an investigation into the purported fraud. This is consistent with ongoing reports by “Learn About Movie Posters” (LAMP).
While MoPo is a mailing list (in which registered members communicate via e-mail, not on the web), there is a web archive of the discussions, and the topic in question can be found below:
In the original post of the topic, the member explains about his contact with the FBI:
[MOPO] email from FBI
Alan Heimann
Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:49:15 -0800
has anybody on the listserv received a similar e- mail?
The New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently
investigating individuals involved in the production and sale of fake
horror movie posters and lobby cards. A large number of these pieces were
sold through Ebay over the past three years. Based on a review of records,
we believe that you may have purchased one or more pieces of questionable
authenticity. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss
your purchase.Regards,
Michael P. Mullahy
Special Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigation
New York Office
80-02 Kew Gardens Road
Kew Gardens, NY 11415
718-286-7100 (office)
718-286-7361 (fax)Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com
___________________________________________________________________
One of the respondents in the topic claims that “[t]he FBI subpoenaed the eBay records of Haggard (UniversalHorrorart on eBay) and is contacting those that have had eBay transactions with him in the past“.
In keeping abreast of ongoing developments with the varied issues of fraud in the poster marketplace over the past several months, in monitoring MoPo, it would seem that there are a number of related civil lawsuits in progress.
There is also a tremendous amount of information about the FBI investigation and the various lawsuits on the website www.LearnAboutMoviePosters.com (“LAMP”):
Additional information published by LAMP can be found here:
Past related articles published by the Original Prop Blog can be found via the link below (Market Watch | Posters, One Sheets, Lobby Cards):
Jason DeBord