john davis

January 23, 2013 By Jason DeBord

Vintage Poster Scandal Update: 1931 Dracula Poster Lawsuits & Default Judgments – Profiles in History vs. Thomas Rega / Thomas Rega vs. Studio Conservation

One of the most significant scandals to hit Hollywood memorabilia collecting in the past decade was a series of discoveries in the poster community relating to purported fraudulent movie posters and one sheets. A new update was published yesterday on the MoPo Mailing List at FilmFan.com by Dianne Jeffrey, President and CEO of Studio Conservation Inc. Ms. Jeffrey was the professional who did some of the restoration work (in good faith) on the Dracula poster consigned to a Profiles in History auction in which it was featured on the cover of their “Hollywood Auction 37” sale event in 2009. Ms. Jeffrey has stated on MoPo that she received notice of a default judgment against her from Thomas Rega “in the amount of $263,312.50, plus attorney fees of $18,134.80”; she is a resident of California and the lawsuit was filed against her in New Jersey and she did not represent herself and/or her business in court. Interestingly, Profiles in History was previously awarded a default judgment against Thomas Rega in their own lawsuit filed against him in California. [Read more…]

April 10, 2012 By Jason DeBord

Vintage Poster Scandal Update: Judge Sentences Kerry Haggard to over 6 years in Federal Prison and Orders to Pay $1,380,000 in Restitution to Victims

This is an update to the ongoing series of articles into various claims and charges of fraud in the posters, one sheets, and lobby cards art market that have rocked the collectibles industry over the past two and a half years. Today, per reports from Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Athens Banner-Herald, and other mainstream media sources, Kerry Haggard was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon to six years and six months in federal prison. The court also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.38 million dollars. [Read more…]

April 28, 2010 By Jason DeBord

Vintage Poster Scandal Update: New York Times Reports Kerry Haggard Arrested on Mail Fraud Charges

As a brief update to the various scandals involving allegedly fraudulent vintage movie posters circulating in the marketplace, two stories published online today by the New York Times report that Kerry T. Haggard has been arrested on mail fraud charges. [Read more…]

April 20, 2010 By Jason DeBord

Round-Up: More Media Coverage on Fraudulent Vintage Horror Movie Poster Scandal & Lawsuits

In the past few weeks, the scandals involving allegedly fraudulent vintage movie posters circulating in the marketplace has been covered by various online and print media outlets, including The Gainesville Times, The Athens Banner-Herald, and Rue Morgue Magazine. [Read more…]

February 10, 2010 By Jason DeBord

Profiles in History Files Lawsuits Against Fraudulent Movie Poster Auction Consignors

As an update to the ongoing movie poster scandal that was first reported on last year, auction house Profiles in History has this week filed the second of two lawsuits against consignors that they allege defrauded them via the consignment of fake move posters (one-sheets, lobby cards) to their sales. [Read more…]

February 2, 2010 By Jason DeBord

Maine Antique Digest Report & Legal Update on Movie Poster Scandal

Maine Antique Digest has published a story on the movie poster scandal that was reported on late last year, along with an extensive update on the various lawsuits that have resulted from the sale and trade of movie posters that experts have determined to be fraudulent/forgeries. [Read more…]

January 15, 2010 By Jason DeBord

Poster Fraud Update: Reports of FBI Investigation Seeking eBay Victims, Multiple Civil Lawsuits

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). [Read more…]

October 1, 2009 By Jason DeBord

Statement from John Davis of Poster Mountain Regarding Fraudulent “1931” Dracula One Sheet

As a short update to yesterday’s article (see “1931″ Dracula One Sheet Poster Determined to be Fake, Pulled from Next Week’s Profiles in History Auction), Joe Maddalena of Profiles in History has sent me a statement from John Davis of Poster Mountain, who authenticated the Dracula one sheet which has been determined to be a forgery. [Read more…]