You Guys See This E.Manning/NYG Fraud Story?
 

This is pretty pathetic on the part of Giants players and their cohorts-- IF TRUE, of course. Would not get any lamer than a celebrity, multi-millionaire QB defrauding fans.

http://nypost.com/2014/01/30/eli-and...orabilia-suit/

There's a lot going on here and I won't comment until reading the actual lawsuit...but I will say this: you have to have a screw loose to buy so-called "game-used" memorabilia, no matter the source.

Agree, agree, agree x1,000,000.

I read that article this morning and forwarded that to my editor at Sports Collectors Daily

I don't comment much on this forum, but I found the article above to be quite amusing to me personally for the following reason/situation:

Back in 2008, I won an NFL Auctions listing for a 2007 Jets (Titans) throwback jersey documented to have been "game-worn" by a close friend of mine. Upon receiving the jersey, I figured I'd either give it back to my buddy or have him autograph it as a personal keepsake for myself, later in life. Needless to say, when I showed him the jersey, he laughed...Proper size? Yes. Proper game-time alterations? NO. According to his account, he'd already snagged the real game jersey from the Jets organization. He still signed my momento, and that jersey, whatever it represents, has been stashed in a closet ever since I had it autographed at the time. No big money changed hands, and the matter was not worth pursuing further then...Funny to see these more serious accusations years later.

edited to add: At the time, NFL Auctions was an extension of the nfl.com official website. I don't know if they still offer items for sale/auction to the general public, but related COA's were on official team stationary.

Yes...Agree 100%...it seems a large % of the sports collectibles population has screws loose then!

Perhaps Eli's guilt over this can explain his unfocused play this year and all those picks he threw, lol. Man they were tough to watch.

I hope this is not true. If it is I will be most disappointed that he did this because he did not need the $.

Will be interesting to see the fallout if this is true, especially for Steiner! Sounds like the kind of stuff that could put them out of business overnight...


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To say the people who collect game used have screws loose I think is pretty stupid. There's fraud in all parts of this hobby. And just like any hobby it's called do your own research and not depend on others.

I, too, am curious to see how the media handles their, "Aw shucks," boy scout darling as this plays out.

Of course, first and foremost it's about the veracity of the claims. But IF this ever turns out to be true, any guilty stars should be held accountable, and not shielded by hitherto sterling reputations, or PR-crisis machines, or media who think a memorabilia fraud is not a big deal story-- as, say, compared to trash talking post-game tirades that become national front page news.

Sounds authoritative enough for me

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As someone who at one time collected "game worn" football jerseys, I have to agree that it is crazy to collect them. Add to the list collecting autographs, and other game used equipment. Unless you see the player sign it (tough for old timers) or see the player take off the equipment and hand it to you, there is a decent chance the item is fake.

I wouldn't be sad if Steiner went out of business...personally. I mean they sell "dirt" from yankee stadium for a ridiculous amount of $$$$!

You mean like this??? (Sorry couldn't resist :))

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xffOCZYX6F8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think this is the painful, honest truth. If you didn't collect it yourself, you very well may be throwing your money away.

That's quality dirt, son.

I wonder how much that Mean Joe jersey has sold for at auction in the past?

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Just when I was admiring the game used bats at HA and Goldin in complete awe. I mean-- that SHOELESS JOE BAT? If authentic, what a monstrously impressive piece.

That's not just any Yankee stadium dirt, that's DJ3K game-used dirt.

I'll never forget the interview you did with Steiner about that. Classic!

while it may have been "quality" dirt...it probably wasn't even yankee stadium dirt!

Yankee Stadium Dirt
 

Would it still count as "Yankee Stadium Dirt" if the NY DPW swept it up from East 161st St? :D

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That was a funny one. Brandon was pretty cool even when I teased him about the dirt. Very straight-forward and had a sense of humor.

How credible is an accusation coming from a guy who was indicted for
memorabilia fraud for selling bogus jerseys and then says he knew they
were churning out fakes but thought his were legit because of his
close relationship with the team?

That sale was the best completion he had all year.

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Well played, sir.

The civil suit is now available to download at the bottom of the NY Post piece. Or here: http://www.scribd.com/document_downl...d&source=embed

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The Eli story doesn't make much sense. I can see others in the organization asking him to create fakes, and maybe they have some pull to get him to do it, but he personally can't ever sell the originals, as fake versions have now already been sold, and as others have pointed out - he shouldn't need the money.

I don't collect game-used, but I did buy a football that was fumbled by Walter Payton and recovered by a Falcons player. I had to give it a lot of thought - "Is it real?" I don't know. I think it is, but I could be wrong - wouldn't this ball be extremely important to Tony Casillas? He saved it for almost 30 years, so you would think so. Why would he sell it for only a $200 or so? Is he that broke?

I don't agree that buyers of such items are throwing their money away - it all comes down to how much they believe the item is real. If they believe it, then it might as well be real - but that's what forgers are counting on. If the buyer decides later that they don't believe it, they can still sell to someone who does. But if we know this is going on, we are certainly perpetuating it by purchasing items that we know have a strong chance of being fake, especially if it's for resale.

Post/opinion no longer available

I would think it's probably some Giant exec in charge of creating ancillary revenue streams for the team, mainly responsible for this. Pushing as much stuff through Steiner as possible, while putting the requisite pressure on the Equipment department of the team...................who will most likely be the fall guys.

I doubt Eli ever thought twice about any of this crap going on.

Rocky Marciano gave out untold numbers of gloves from his title fights over the years. Doubtfully any of them were actually legit.

Just to clarify, the allegation is not that Eli wanted to make fakes for sale/profit, but that he wanted to keep the originals for his own personal collection.

If someone talked him into making fakes, regardless of his personal motivation to do so, that's real close to "wanting to make fakes for sale/profit". For legal purposes, it's probably the same.

FBI Press release "Operation Team player"...
seems its an NFL issue just as much as NY & Eli.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1401/140130newyork.htm

The follow up in the Post today was just as interesting

http://nypost.com/2014/01/31/collect...2520Newsletter

Read the last sentence carefully

That's the annual "the NFL and FBI bust fake jersey sellers the week of the Super Bowl" story. Happens every single year and nothing ever changes. One visit to Ebay and a search for any star player will show you that 95% of the merchandise out there is fake. Heck, a few years ago I got a Christmas catalog from Ebay touting the low prices of various items - and it featured a fake NFL jersey right on the cover. The story in question isn't related to fake game-used memorabilia but fake merchandise for fans and the like. It's the $39 "authentic" jerseys from China.

It doesn't have to be true, the story just has to get enough traction prior to being proven false for there to be a huge fallout on Steiner.

Sounds like the same thing to me.

Doug

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[QUOTE=Big Six;1234203]Will be interesting to see the fallout if this is true, especially for Steiner! Sounds like the kind of stuff that could put them out of business overnight...


And wouldn't THAT be a shame! :D:D:p

[QUOTE=JasonL;1234901]Would that mean no more chances to buy Joe Schlabatnik's (sp) autographed rookie photo for $395??? :D:D.

[QUOTE=RichardSimon;1234904]Attachment 130919Attachment 130920

Not FBI- HSI, homeland security investigations. We're a completely different agency with border search authority. I worked at the O'Hare mail unit during the last Super Bowl picking off *thousands* of fake jerseys that could easily be sold off as authentic jerseys from China.

They come in year round but always pick up right before certain major events.