buyer beware

August 25, 2015 By Jason DeBord

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

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…]

October 17, 2013 By Jason DeBord

Revisiting TV Prop Studio Sanctioned Auctions: Descriptions, Research, Production Made, Multiples, Back-Ups, “Use” on Screen (ScreenBid/Breaking Bad, Profiles in History/LOST, Christie’s/Star Trek)

An issue that seems to come up with every official studio auction of original props and costumes from popular television shows is that of buyers feeling mislead by descriptions of auction houses, particularly use. We saw this with Christie’s and their official “40 years of Star Trek” auction, with Profiles in History and their sale of material from ABC’s LOST, and based on a reader comment today on my article about newcomer ScreenBid and their Breaking Bad auction, it would seem that the same issue is in play with this latest sale as well. Since people likely don’t check my articles for comments after reading it, I thought it might be worthwhile and productive to highlight that comment and my response in a new article, as it is an issue that seems to occur with each of these official studio sales, particularly because it brings in participants who have not participated in such sales before, and perhaps have not purchased or collected original props, costumes, and other artifacts from film and television. [Read more…]

October 11, 2013 By Jason DeBord

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

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…]

November 29, 2012 By Jason DeBord

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…]

July 25, 2012 By Jason DeBord

FBI: “William Mastro and Two Other Executives of Former Mastro Auctions Indicted for Allegedly Defrauding Bidders in Online and Live Auctions of Sports Memorabilia and Other Collectibles”

The Chicago Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have published a press release update regarding the ongoing investigation of alleged sports memorabilia fraud involving former Mastro Auction executives. Prosecutors claim that William Boehn, the Information Technology Director, made false statements to FBI agents. According to the FBI press release, the memorabilia auction house executives “were indicted on fraud charges for allegedly rigging auctions through a series of deceptive practices, including so-called “shill-bidding,” designed to inflate prices paid by bidders and to protect the interests of consignors and sellers at the expense of unwitting bidders.” [Read more…]