I don't know what to make of this story, but I'm out $8K

jrdolan

In the selling-trading forum I posted that my run of Mantle cards will go up on eBay, and I want to explain why.

The Mastro auction in August included my 1956 Ted Williams PSA 9, which sold for $8,888. A friend in the hobby, with connections to national dealers and known to some here, put my card into Mastro via a well-known dealer. Because of that dealer's high volume of business with Mastro, my friend was able to get my card into that large submission at a reduced rate. The cost to me was 5% of the sale price (compared to the usual 15%). Mastro was to pay the dealer, who was to send the money to my friend, who was to send the money to me (minus the 5%). There is an email contract to that effect (not a signed piece of paper, alas).

Well, today the friend told me that the IRS seized his assets a couple days after he deposited the Mastro money in his account, but before he could cut me a check for my share, $8,444.

I don't know what to make of that story, or his promise that I will get my money as soon as he can manage. I still cannot think about it clearly. My first instinct is that I am being taken for a ride, yet I thought I knew this person well. Because of his connections in the hobby, I trusted him. I will not name him publicly yet, but he is a PSA registry member and may read these boards, though I can't recall him posting. I am sure some of the veterans here have dealt with him. If he reads this, I hope he understands the fear and panic that his declaration has caused me.

Anyway, I foolishly put all my eggs in the Mastro basket and that money is not going to come when promised. The money is largely committed, and I have to take steps to keep myself out of trouble. I have many sets, Mick is one of my favorites, but he's also the the one who will save my ass the quickest. So that's the explanation.

Any advice on how to deal with my friend and the "IRS" situation would be welcome.

2323

Thats horrible, If he says he's gonna get you your money when this is all worked out, then I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting you hold some collateral until he does. If he says no to that I would start thinking judge Judy.

maxXposure

Ouch!

I don't know what to make of the story either.. I think since you're 8K is involved, he should explain to you WHY the IRS seized his assets..

jmpkcp

jrdolan,

You can start to relax a bit. When the IRS levies someone's bank accounts, all it takes is a phone call, and maybe a fax or two from your friend explaining his consigning your property on his behalf, and they should release that EXACT amount of funds back to his bank account. The IRS is not heartless. If your friend says that is not possible, then your friend is not a friend, but rather a liar.

One of my company's bank accounts was levied based on a employer identification number mixup, and as they have a department that handles specifically unique situations, it took one phone call explaning to have it released for the next business day. PM me if you need help.

jmpkcp

Cubfan

For that kind of dough, I would get an attorney involved immediately.

Hopefully, you have one who is a friend who would give you some free suggestions of how to proceed.

ctsoxfan

Sorry, not to further upset jrdolan - but I cannot believe the IRS (if in fact the whole story is true) is going to care that this fellow had a baseball card consigned to him, just so they will release eight thousand plus dollars back to the person, in order for him to then "pay you" your eight grand. Don't you think the IRS would think that he is just trying to scam them? If he is really in trouble with the IRS, they aren't going to give up any monies owed to them that they can get their hands on - believe that.

damnyankees

WOW!!!Didn't you get screwed out of $9000 last week on Ebay??

jrdolan

<< <i>WOW!!!Didn't you get screwed out of $9000 last week on Ebay?? >>


That wasn't me. I got screwed out of $24.99 + shipping recently on eBay, but that's peanuts compared to this.

Thanks for the advice re: IRS having a heart. It would surprise me, but it can't hurt to try. If the IRS is really involved.

jmpkcp

If the IRS is REALLY involved, and you have documentation of the sale of the card through Mastro, and maybe some explanation of where you originally purchased the card and why you consigned it through another person, it should be a piece of cake.

jmpkcp

koby

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Hopefully you can get your money back, but I will be very surprised if the IRS releases the money as easily as jmpkcp says they will.

jrdolan

<< <i>Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Hopefully you can get your money back, but I will be very surprised if the IRS releases the money as easily as jmpkcp says they will. >>


Koby, after talking to a tax attorney who also happens to be an avid collector and member here, I am inclined to agree.

But I'm not going down without a fight. Not with $8K+ at stake.

jmpkcp

jrdolan,

I asked you to PM me before, but without success. I can give you actual phone numbers with the IRS that you could call to try and sort this out. But apparently no one concurs with my opinion (which is based on actual experience). So I'm sorry I couldn't actually help you.

jmpkcp

DeutscherGeist

I don't think the IRS will release any funds easily. Jmpkcp does not say it is easy, he specifically points out that with so and so evidence, he can make an excellent case over the phone. The key word here is EVIDENCE. If he has it, the IRS would cooperate. I am sure the "friend" must sign a form aurthorizing and agreeing that this sum of money does indeed belong to jrdolen because of so..... and so..... That should put all suspicions of scam aside.

This is why I advocate saving receipts and demanding them when a purchase is made. If jrdolen can prove he had ownership of the card, either through reciept or PSA submission form, he definately has a solid case.

GOOD LUCK!! I hope you succeed. Everytime there is friendship and money misfortune involved it really stings. The friendship is brought into question and the loss of money are both not pleasant things.

jrdolan

<< <i>I asked you to PM me before, but without success. I can give you actual phone numbers with the IRS that you could call to try and sort this out. But apparently no one concurs with my opinion (which is based on actual experience). So I'm sorry I couldn't actually help you. >>


jmpkcp, I don't re-read the early posts each time, so I missed the edit on yours in which you invited me to PM. I'm sorry. But please post the numbers, I would appreciate it. Not sure what the "no pity" violin is about, but I value your advice as well.

AkbarClone

<< <i>jmpkcp, I don't re-read the early posts each time, so I missed the edit on yours in which you invited me to PM >>




His edit was 2 minutes after he posted--I doubt anyone even saw the unedited post.


But we all do wish you luck in getting what is rightfully yours.

RepublicaninMass

THE PROPER RESPONSE IS:>>>>>Call taxpayer hotline 1-800-829-1040 or 617-536-1040 (MA only) That is an old number but they will be able to direct you to the right person. People actual answer the phone, and are somewhat nice. Good luck jrdolan!!!

jmpkcp

Yes, jrdolan, you will need to call that number to be directed to the proper department. You need to get your "friend" to sign an affidavit stating the money is yours...make sure it is notarized as well. You will slowly but surely be moved up the chain until it is taken care of. This type of thing happens alot. Sometimes businesses that don't have employer ID numbers but are rather listed under the SSN of an owner can have their accounts levied, thereby taking all of the employees' paychecks. They have a standard procedure for releasing funds. I guarantee it.

jmpkcp

p.s. My message was edited before for a single spelling error. I hate spelling errors.....they remind me of 222collector. Violin guy was supposed to be

jrdolan

Thanks, guys. I'll update when there is something new.

Stone193

<< <i>Thanks, guys. I'll update when there is something new. >>


JR
Good luck! Hope this one has a happy ending.
your friend
Mike

Buccaneer

What happened?

jrdolan

I thought I talked about this in another thread, but ... The IRS thing was a total lie, he got my money from Mastro and blew it on gambling. That was a violation of his probation from mail fraud several years ago. I talked to his probation officer, and he faced a real possibility of going back to prison for gambling (not to mention deceiving me and others in order to use our money).

This person repaid me part of the money in cards and memorabilia which I have sold. You may remember a run of '54 Red Hearts PSA 8 and a 3,000 Strike Club autographed poster that I authenticated and sold. He also gave me a signed 2002 Yankees bat to sell, and I still have it, but the auto pros here thought at least some of the signatures were fake. I have not done anything with it, not wanting to waste $125+ money on authentication if it obviously had some bad autos.

He also gave me a $1000 Home Depot card (that a grateful casino gave him) for consideration of $500 off his debt. The long and short is that he got the debt from $8444 down to about $2300. Then he vanished. His cell phone was no longer in service and I could not track down his probation officer (I lost his info and he is nowhere to be found in the state of Ohio). Nor is the offender himself incarcerated in the Ohio prison system (that is easily checked), so it's not that he was whisked away involuntarily. I'm guessing he went off the wagon again on the gambling and who knows where he is now. I have no doubt the $2300 is gone forever.

2323

Everybody gets whats coming to them, and he'll get his. But unfortunately you won't be getting your money. At least you got some of it back.

yankeeno7

I almost think I would take a road trip. 'nuff said.

DeutscherGeist

I was hoping that things worked out better for you.

You were smart to cut your losses and just accept whatever stuff he can give you. $2,300 is still alot to lose and it looks like the Yankee bat is worthless (because of some fake autos).

That home depot card could actually help you. you counted it as $500, but you can get $1000 worth of stuff. Well, the Home Depot is a place where they sell items you actually need and use, especially if you are a homeowner. I am sure you would have spent a $1000 at the Home Depot anyway. I am just trying to look at the positives.

Will you cooperate with the authorities to get him behind bars? Had you known he was on probation, would you still have trusted him?

pandrews

eBay the home depot card if you dont want to use it.. you'll get a decent % for it..

helionaut

Definitely, you'd probably get close to full value for the Home Depot card. There's a $500 one ending in a few minutes that's at $450. I guess people like getting something for nothing, even if it's not very much. That's a terrible story all around. I don't know which ending is worse, the real one or the story he told you. I guess the story is worse, because in that ending you were out $8000. That guy will screw up again at some point, though.

jrdolan

<< <i>Will you cooperate with the authorities to get him behind bars? Had you known he was on probation, would you still have trusted him? >>



Yes, if I can find who the authorities are. I've called many probation and parole offices in Ohio, but no one seems to know where his case is handled. Ohio has no central clearinghouse for court cases, they are each handled in county and municipal courts and they don't share with each other unless there is a specific request. It's really frustrating. Even the Victim Services Office can't find out about his case or locate the probation officer.

No, of course I would NEVER have sent my '56 Ted Williams PSA 9 to a convicted felon who was on probation for fraud. At the time, we were friends and I trusted him. Greed did me in; he got my card into the Mastro auction through a dealer for 5% instead of the usual 15%. The card sold for almost $3K over SMR, too. The dealer didn't know of his conviction or gambling problems, either.

Knuckles

This is a horrible story.. I couldn't imagine if this happened to me I would be ill. At least you were able to get some stuff out of him to make up for most of the loss even if it requried a lot of work to get it and sell it all.. Maybe send PSA/DNA pics of that bat and get a quick opinion from them?

If I were you and saw this guy anywhere I would be the one going to jail.

julen23

What a jack-ass, he is probably somewhere pulling a plunger out of his a@#.

JR, your honesty is very compelling, this forces us to all think twice before dealing w/ people and not be so eager to pull the trigger on transactions.

Julen
_______________________________________________________________________________

goudeygold

Why don't you put his name out so none of us get screwed? Why protect a convicted lying felon?

good job on the getting 6000 back atleast...

GG

koby

You are fortunate that he paid back part of the debt.

kingraider75

Horrible story. This story is one reason why I don't submit things through other people. Doing it saved you 10%, which is significant, but not having control over the situation is not worth it. I don't submit cards for grading through other people either. It might cost me a higher grades sometimes, but I don't like having a middle man.

Good work on getting almost all of your money back. How long have you known this person??? A few years or a long time?

DeutscherGeist

JR,

Correct me if I am wrong, but on the top post you mentioned talking to his probation officer. Shouldn't he know where the case is handled? He must have access to this man's full name and social security number. Unless the crook uses a fake ID, he can be tracked when he checks into a hotel, rents an apartment.... there are possibilities. The probation officer you talked should get a lead on him.

WinPitcher

have no doubt the $2300 is gone forever


better then the original debt JR

sorry that happened to you.

steve

charliehustle14

JR,

While I feel horrible for your loss, I appreciate you sharing your story. That 's a really valuable lesson for us all.

It's nice to have met some of the great folks on this board that I've traded with or have been great sources of information on the hobby. It helps keep in perspective that not everyone out there in the sports collecting world is a crook.

Todd

jrdolan

<< <i>Correct me if I am wrong, but on the top post you mentioned talking to his probation officer. Shouldn't he know where the case is handled? He must have access to this man's full name and social security number. >>


One day the probation officer called me at work. They had gotten my name and number off the guy's computer, which they had seized. The officer asked me a lot of questions about the circumstances of my submitting a card to Mastro through this crook. Let's call the crook Gary (since that's his name). In a subsequent conversation he told me the IRS stuff was bogus and Gary had gambled my money away -- which Gary subsequently later confessed to me as well.

The probation officer gave me his name and the number of his office, which I called back a couple of times, so I know he was real. Then Gary started paying me back with cards and stuff, and I stopped talking to the probation guy. I lost his number, and apparently my assumed spelling of his name (Art Boker is what it sounded like) is wrong because no one in the Ohio probation and parole system can help me find him. Maybe he no longer works there. I don't even know which P&P office it was in Ohio. As I said, there are many of them, all insulated from each other. I am hoping Boker or his office will call me back some day to check on the restitution so I can tell them that their offender has stopped paying and vanished.

Ohio inmates can be tracked down on the state's penal system web site, but Gary's not among them. I've followed every lead I can think of.

Stone193

JR
Sorry to hear the guy didn't make total restitution. There's really not much more I can say other than you're a good guy and deserve better.

All my best
Mike

DeutscherGeist

JR,

OK, I see, you lost the number of the probation officer. He may call you back since you were on good rapport with him as a follow up. Since you called his number several times, do you at least remember the area code or something about it? When you call a number, it will show up on your cell phone bill or even land line phone bill. This is how I was able to retrieve numbers I thought I had lost. If you no longer have the itemized phone bills, you can call the phone company to help. Let them know it has to do with legal or police investigation matters--that usually offsets any fees they may want to charge for a copy of any bill.
If the number is not on your land line bill, then it must have been a local number, which means the precinct or station has the same area code as you or the one nearby. That ought to really narrow your search.
I only want to help you. I don't mean to be a pest or anything by coming on here several times a day. I hope my follow ups are taken as offensive. I don't mean to pry.