Shanus v. R.L. Americana, Lifson, Robert Edwards Auctions, et al.

[topcat61]

Is this the reason why the FBI named Lifson as a shill in a previous case?Isnt Rob Lifson suppose to be the "squeegee-clean" hobby guy?

[brianp-beme]

In case you are too busy to scroll cursor over and click the link, here is a portion of the blog post...feel free to read the whole thing by clicking the link.

Brian


For example, REA wishes to seal sections of the April 30th and May 1st transcripts that describe Mr. Lifson's relationship with Mr. Nash and outline their scheme. The disputed transcripts explain how Mr. Nash consigned items that he owned for sale in REA auctions. After placing his items in the auctions, Mr. Nash bid on some of those very same items as Cooperstown, an entity that he completely controlled.

Mr. Nash then extended credit to Cooperstown for the cost of the successful bids, therefore preventing any money from actually changing hands between Mr. Nash and Cooperstown. Essentially, Mr. Nash would loan Cooperstown, an entity under his control, money to pay himself for Cooperstown's purchases of his own memorabilia.

Mr. Lifson, as the auction representative, would normally receive a buyer's commission and fees from items sold in REA auctions. However, Mr. Nash would not pay the full fees, accruing debt with REA. Instead, Mr. Lifson had an agreement with Mr. Nash that the items Cooperstown purchased would be held as collateral for Mr. Nash's debt, but it is unclear whether Mr. Lifson ever intended on collecting this debt.

Mr. Lifson would then report these sales on his website, but REA never actually removed these items from their inventory, until offering them for sale at some point in the future. Because successful sales potentially increase the value of items, Mr. Lifson and Mr. Nash's scheme would artificially inflate the prices of items that they intended to sell in future auctions.

For the above reasons, the materials that REA seeks to seal are directly relevant to the heart of this case, meaning that the basis for the judgment rests upon the disputed transcripts and exhibits. If the Court sealed the disputed materials, it would essentially conceal the very mechanism that REA used to perpetuate the scheme, leaving the public with little more than the judgment itself to establish the existence of the scheme. Consequently, the Court finds that the public interest in disclosure outweighs any private interest to seal….

[Snapolit1]

Imagine if this was about Ken Goldin. Sheesh. This would likely be post 1,450.

[frankbmd]

Squeaky clean baseball card dealer?

The hobby is oxymoronic.

Check out my listings on BST.

[TanksAndSpartans]

If you google different combinations of the individuals involved seems like a lot of this goes back over 10 years.

[Peter_Spaeth]

This is old news. The case as I understand it was settled by Rob and Corey quite some time ago, perhaps a year or more.

[Robert_Lifson]

This legal snipet is extremely incomplete. All commissions were collected by REA relating to the sales in question - it just took a long time. It is true that considerable legal action was necessary to collect all funds due by Nash and this Cooperstown Monument company (i am still due significant legal fees which were awarded to me). If we had no interest in collecting all funds due, I certainly would not have pursued collection. That said, in the end when Corey and I finally sat down to talk we quickly realized that we were on the same page on virtually everything and had no business being in a legal battle and continuing with appeals and legal nonsense was a waste of time and money. When we finally sat down we easily settled our matter - extremely amicably I might add - and have actually been on friendlier terms since than ever. In fact I’ve been able to help him with some pretty significant deals over the past year. With reference to Mastro Auctions, I was not a shill bidder! My role was to bring information about the issues of the company to the attention of the FBI and convince them this warranted looking at. If not for me, for better or worse, that business and their way of illegally operating would have probably continued to this day. I am literally moving today (sitting behind a truck as I type) and really have no desire to address every inaccuracy that is possible - I am retired and very much enjoying myself and family - but as many on this board know, i am always available to help collectors with feedback and information about collecting when possible.

Sincerely,

Robert Lifson

Robertelifson@gmail.com

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

This is old news. The case as I understand it was settled by Rob and Corey quite some time ago, perhaps a year or more.

Peter is correct. Rob and I settled this case over a year ago, and as Rob says, we have since been on amicable terms, and over that time Rob has helped me add some significant items to my collection.

[drcy]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Imagine if this was about Ken Goldin. Sheesh. This would likely be post 1,450.

with memes and gifs