1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,760 In this episode of American Greed. 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:07,260 Money, greed, lack of moral values. 3 00:00:07,860 --> 00:00:09,920 Maybe he's a sociopath, I don't know. 4 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:16,040 Bill Mastro helps turn a niche hobby into a multi -million dollar criminal 5 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:17,040 enterprise. 6 00:00:17,380 --> 00:00:20,140 He's referred to by some as the godfather of the industry. 7 00:00:20,540 --> 00:00:24,680 He really, on his back, brought this industry into what it was and what it 8 00:00:26,060 --> 00:00:30,900 And it isn't about kids getting baseball cards in packs of gum anymore. 9 00:00:31,420 --> 00:00:37,800 Any hobby, business, whatever, where money can be made, the cockroaches 10 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:39,280 fly in. 11 00:00:40,060 --> 00:00:45,860 And like baseball itself, this industry has winners, losers, 12 00:00:46,140 --> 00:00:47,820 and cheaters. 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:54,040 And you had 10 % of schmucks like me who just was walking in and getting my head 14 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:55,040 handed to me. 15 00:00:55,200 --> 00:01:00,140 But when the game is over, will Bill Mastro end up triumphant? 16 00:01:01,260 --> 00:01:04,300 Sadly, the big lesson is that crime absolutely pays. 17 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:06,380 And it pays a lot. 18 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,660 Jeff Evers has the collector's bug. 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,820 He wants to turn pieces of Americana into cash. 20 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:35,880 In around 1998 or so, I started to watch the Antiques Roadshow. 21 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,100 And I thought, well, that seems like an interesting hobby. 22 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,780 So I basically collected collectibles. 23 00:01:45,420 --> 00:01:47,980 The idea was to treasure hunt, basically. 24 00:01:49,870 --> 00:01:56,430 And one day in 2007, an elderly man hands him a small box of gold 25 00:01:56,430 --> 00:01:58,430 at a simple garage sale. 26 00:01:58,790 --> 00:02:04,110 He marches me into his garage and he points up at a box and on the side is 27 00:02:04,110 --> 00:02:05,450 handwritten baseball cards. 28 00:02:06,610 --> 00:02:12,870 So I open it up and on the top of the box, there are four stacks of cards. 29 00:02:14,620 --> 00:02:21,260 Evers only sees the top four cards, but he quickly realizes time is of the 30 00:02:21,260 --> 00:02:24,640 essence. Another gentleman started to walk up the driveway. 31 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:29,500 So I thought, well, I'm not going to like open up this box and start going 32 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:31,240 through all this because I want to buy it. 33 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:37,000 So I took a risk and I said, I'm going to offer you $500 for the whole box. 34 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,580 And he looked at me with a smile and said, sold. 35 00:02:43,369 --> 00:02:49,490 And I had scored big. I mean, there were amazing cards that were in that box. 36 00:02:49,730 --> 00:02:56,250 I had a Hank Aaron rookie card, an Ernie Banks rookie card, two Al Kaline rookie 37 00:02:56,250 --> 00:03:02,210 cards, a 1958 Roberto Clemente card. I had a Napoleon Lajoie 1933 38 00:03:02,210 --> 00:03:08,430 Gaudi card, which apparently is the second rarest card in all of card 39 00:03:08,430 --> 00:03:09,430 collecting. 40 00:03:10,350 --> 00:03:14,710 Evers decides to make use of the gold mine he's uncovered. 41 00:03:15,730 --> 00:03:22,690 My second oldest son had some health issues, and I wanted 42 00:03:22,690 --> 00:03:27,270 to sell the cards and basically cash in, so to speak. 43 00:03:28,330 --> 00:03:31,750 At the time, the place to cash in is clear. 44 00:03:32,750 --> 00:03:34,070 Mastro Auctions. 45 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,740 Over the past decade, Mastro Auctions has sold over a quarter of a billion 46 00:03:39,740 --> 00:03:44,540 dollars of high -value collectibles, establishing itself as the largest and 47 00:03:44,540 --> 00:03:49,040 respected sports and Americana collectibles auction house in the world. 48 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:54,440 Mastro Auctions, people can consign memorabilia to have it auctioned to 49 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,520 collectors across the country and around the world. 50 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,440 Bill Mastro was one of the early pioneers of the sports memorabilia 51 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:09,520 Bill Master was a collector growing up as a kid who turned his hobby into a 52 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,440 business. You have to remember that when we grew up in the 60s and the 70s, 53 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,580 everybody collected baseball cards. 54 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,339 Jeffrey Lichtman starts collecting baseball cards as a kid. 55 00:04:20,860 --> 00:04:24,360 But as he grows up, so does the memorabilia industry. 56 00:04:26,220 --> 00:04:29,540 You've got some money in your pocket and you want to relive your youth. 57 00:04:30,140 --> 00:04:34,340 And instead of being able to spend a nickel on a pack of cards, now you're 58 00:04:34,340 --> 00:04:38,500 spending perhaps thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of dollars on a 59 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:43,400 single baseball card, all to recapture joy, that innocent joy of your youth. 60 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:48,700 And Bill Mastro finds a way to exploit that innocent joy. 61 00:04:50,180 --> 00:04:54,320 He loved the wheeling and dealing. He loved the trading and sort of that, you 62 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,380 know, that horse trading. He got a taste of the business. 63 00:04:57,760 --> 00:04:59,640 pretty early in his life. 64 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:06,780 By the 70s and 80s, the entire hobby gets a taste of the business, and the 65 00:05:06,780 --> 00:05:10,780 innocence begins to fade as it is replaced by dollar signs. 66 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:17,060 There's a greed factor here, too, where all of a sudden, the cards that my mom 67 00:05:17,060 --> 00:05:21,780 put in the basement 35 years ago were suddenly going to allow me to retire and 68 00:05:21,780 --> 00:05:22,840 buy an island in the Caribbean. 69 00:05:23,980 --> 00:05:26,840 And it just doesn't make sense, right? Because at the end of the day, these 70 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:28,920 cards are just, they're pieces of cardboard. 71 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,400 But to Bill Mastro, these pieces of cardboard are gold. 72 00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:38,400 And one piece of cardboard in particular. 73 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:44,660 I was in our newsroom one day, and I'd just gotten to work, and the sports 74 00:05:44,660 --> 00:05:48,860 editor at the Daily News said, they're auctioning off some baseball card, and 75 00:05:48,860 --> 00:05:50,220 they say it might go for a million dollars. 76 00:05:51,530 --> 00:05:56,970 The card is a Honus Wagner, made between 1909 and 1911. 77 00:05:58,110 --> 00:06:03,570 And as reporter Michael O 'Keefe arrives at the auction, he sees what will soon 78 00:06:03,570 --> 00:06:08,350 become the most famous and infamous card in sports collection history. 79 00:06:09,070 --> 00:06:12,330 It was a funny -looking card. It was narrow. It was much smaller than the 80 00:06:12,330 --> 00:06:15,990 baseball cards that I had collected as a kid. But what really impressed me was 81 00:06:15,990 --> 00:06:18,450 just how beautiful it was, how clean it was. 82 00:06:18,910 --> 00:06:22,550 It's referred to as the Holy Grail of baseball cards. It's the card that every 83 00:06:22,550 --> 00:06:25,090 little kid who collects baseball cards knows this card. 84 00:06:25,870 --> 00:06:29,390 But it's not just the beauty of the card that makes it valuable. 85 00:06:29,930 --> 00:06:36,070 It's also because of Honus Wagner himself, a beloved hero who played from 86 00:06:36,070 --> 00:06:37,670 to 1917. 87 00:06:39,710 --> 00:06:44,290 That locker belonged to Honus Wagner, one of the great hitters in the game's 88 00:06:44,290 --> 00:06:47,810 history, and a fellow most people consider the greatest shortstop who ever 89 00:06:47,810 --> 00:06:48,810 lived. 90 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:55,440 When Wagner played, baseball cards were a new phenomenon, inserted into packages 91 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,460 of cigarettes and candy. 92 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:03,120 But despite the mass production of cards, very few Honus Wagner cards were 93 00:07:04,220 --> 00:07:08,880 Precisely why it's so rare is a mystery, but there are some intriguing theories. 94 00:07:09,660 --> 00:07:14,100 There's a version where Honus Wagner did not want children to... 95 00:07:15,050 --> 00:07:18,790 desire his card because it came in a package of tobacco. 96 00:07:19,430 --> 00:07:23,710 There's another version of the story that goes that Hannes Wagner wanted more 97 00:07:23,710 --> 00:07:25,870 money than other players were receiving. 98 00:07:26,150 --> 00:07:31,390 Whatever story you go with, the truth is that there are very few Hannes Wagner 99 00:07:31,390 --> 00:07:33,410 cards in existence today. 100 00:07:34,790 --> 00:07:37,030 But Bill Mastro finds one. 101 00:07:37,770 --> 00:07:42,650 In 1985, he pays $25 ,000 for a stack of cards. 102 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:44,560 that includes the Honus Wagner. 103 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,620 A few years later, he sells it for $100 ,000. 104 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:52,180 It's an outstanding profit. 105 00:07:52,540 --> 00:07:58,400 But the real benefit comes a few years later, in 1991, when the buyer comes to 106 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,460 Bill Mastro to auction the card once again. 107 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,240 Mastro arranges to sell the card through the high -end auction house Sotheby's 108 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:10,240 in New York City. 109 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,500 an auction house renowned for selling fine art worth millions of dollars. 110 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,120 It's an auction unlike anything baseball cards have ever seen. 111 00:08:21,700 --> 00:08:25,860 The atmosphere was electric. It felt like a World Series game. People 112 00:08:25,860 --> 00:08:29,440 that to me. One guy described it was like being at the Ollie Frazier fight at 113 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,340 Madison Square Garden where you just had this anticipation something was going 114 00:08:33,340 --> 00:08:34,340 to happen. 115 00:08:34,460 --> 00:08:38,380 And the bidding kept going up and going up. And, you know, it passed $300 ,000, 116 00:08:38,740 --> 00:08:45,320 $350 ,000, $375 ,000. And then ultimately it sells for $451 ,000. And 117 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:49,820 anonymous buyer turns out to be Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall. 118 00:08:50,620 --> 00:08:57,000 Wayne Gretzky, a .k .a. The Great One, the most famous hockey player in the 119 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,700 world, and the owner of the Los Angeles Kings, Bruce McNall. 120 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:07,460 So the fact that Bretzky buys this card and it goes for a whopping $450 ,000, 121 00:09:07,660 --> 00:09:12,420 unheard of amount of money, and other auction houses are suddenly interested 122 00:09:12,420 --> 00:09:17,000 this market, the media is interested in this market, that really was a turning 123 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:18,000 point. 124 00:09:18,900 --> 00:09:21,340 It's also a turning point for Bill Mastro. 125 00:09:23,100 --> 00:09:27,980 He becomes known as the man who facilitated the sale of the most 126 00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:28,980 in the world. 127 00:09:29,870 --> 00:09:34,070 It was the house. It was the auction shop that sold the card. 128 00:09:34,330 --> 00:09:37,570 And through that is where he's really gained his notoriety. 129 00:09:38,470 --> 00:09:44,390 For nearly two decades, Bill Mastro is an industry leader in sports memorabilia 130 00:09:44,390 --> 00:09:45,390 trading. 131 00:09:45,930 --> 00:09:50,550 Mastro and his chief operating officer, Doug Allen, hold multiple auctions a 132 00:09:50,550 --> 00:09:53,710 year, featuring thousands of items up for bid. 133 00:09:54,370 --> 00:09:57,430 They advertise with high -quality catalogs. 134 00:09:57,710 --> 00:10:01,310 and later take advantage of everything the Internet has to offer. 135 00:10:03,210 --> 00:10:08,350 By the early 2000s, hundreds of millions of dollars passed through the seemingly 136 00:10:08,350 --> 00:10:11,770 innocuous walls of Mastro Auctions headquarters. 137 00:10:13,670 --> 00:10:18,530 But in a highly competitive industry, it's hard to stay on top. 138 00:10:18,910 --> 00:10:22,850 In order to continue getting the great product for your auctions, you've got to 139 00:10:22,850 --> 00:10:23,819 have the best. 140 00:10:23,820 --> 00:10:29,080 And how do you get the best prices? Well, you either can advertise well, you 141 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,280 have a great pitchman, or you can commit a massive fraud on a large scale. 142 00:10:34,740 --> 00:10:37,160 Bill Mastro does all three. 143 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:47,380 Like many avid collectors, Ryan Kristof starts collecting baseball cards at an 144 00:10:47,380 --> 00:10:48,380 early age. 145 00:10:48,910 --> 00:10:51,070 I think I have that collector's bug. 146 00:10:51,330 --> 00:10:54,630 I think it's a genetic thing. You either have it or you don't. 147 00:10:56,110 --> 00:11:00,290 Kristoff's youthful passion for collecting takes on a narrow focus when 148 00:11:00,290 --> 00:11:03,190 visits a card show in Southern California as a teenager. 149 00:11:04,090 --> 00:11:07,290 He sees a man he doesn't know selling autographs. 150 00:11:07,910 --> 00:11:12,350 I eventually got so curious, I went over to him and I just asked, I'm sorry, I 151 00:11:12,350 --> 00:11:14,810 don't mean to bother you, but who are you? 152 00:11:15,290 --> 00:11:19,130 He said, my name's Lou Diles. I play in the Negro Leagues. He started to tell me 153 00:11:19,130 --> 00:11:23,430 all about the Negro Leagues. And that changed my whole life and took it in a 154 00:11:23,430 --> 00:11:27,710 whole different direction because then I just became like I wanted to gobble up 155 00:11:27,710 --> 00:11:28,710 any information I could. 156 00:11:29,290 --> 00:11:35,850 This is a 1923 -24 Beacon card of Hall of Famer Oscar Charleston, 157 00:11:35,990 --> 00:11:40,650 who would be in the discussion for the greatest all -around baseball player of 158 00:11:40,650 --> 00:11:41,650 all time. 159 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:46,880 African Americans couldn't play in the major leagues, but they could go to 160 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,180 countries and make a living as professional ballplayers, and they were 161 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,760 They were celebrities, just like they should have been here. 162 00:11:55,140 --> 00:11:59,140 And it turns out that some of those countries even made baseball cards of 163 00:12:00,780 --> 00:12:06,020 Kristoff travels through Latin America, searching for any cards he can find and 164 00:12:06,020 --> 00:12:11,280 trade. So I was just trying to keep my stuff and then... 165 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,160 Sell enough to make back what I spent. 166 00:12:13,580 --> 00:12:16,100 Wasn't really making money necessarily. 167 00:12:16,500 --> 00:12:19,380 I was just sort of breaking even, but my collection was getting bigger and 168 00:12:19,380 --> 00:12:20,380 bigger. 169 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:25,880 At one point in the late 90s, he sells part of his collection to a trader in 170 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:30,900 Miami. But when that trader decides to auction off that collection, Christoph 171 00:12:30,900 --> 00:12:33,040 notices something suspicious. 172 00:12:35,100 --> 00:12:36,700 He consigned it to Mastro. 173 00:12:37,140 --> 00:12:40,480 I had sold it to him in a private sale, so no one knew what the prices were. 174 00:12:41,390 --> 00:12:46,430 And I wound up winning one of the cards back that I had sold. It wound up going 175 00:12:46,430 --> 00:12:48,990 for almost exactly what I sold it for. 176 00:12:50,430 --> 00:12:55,390 When Christoph looks at the sales of his other old cards, he notices time and 177 00:12:55,390 --> 00:13:01,490 again, sale after sale, card after card, they are sold for almost precisely what 178 00:13:01,490 --> 00:13:03,210 he sells them for originally. 179 00:13:04,170 --> 00:13:07,930 It would be too coincidental for all these cards to be closing at the exact 180 00:13:07,930 --> 00:13:10,650 levels where the private sale was. 181 00:13:11,010 --> 00:13:12,870 I was the only one who knew that information. 182 00:13:14,030 --> 00:13:18,690 The odds of all his cards selling again for nearly the exact same price as 183 00:13:18,690 --> 00:13:22,030 Kristoff sells them for originally are astronomical. 184 00:13:24,530 --> 00:13:29,510 Kristoff suspects that someone behind the scenes is artificially inflating the 185 00:13:29,510 --> 00:13:34,490 bids to reach a minimum price so that the seller is guaranteed not to lose 186 00:13:34,490 --> 00:13:35,490 money. 187 00:13:36,010 --> 00:13:37,150 And he's right. 188 00:13:39,330 --> 00:13:42,310 But this is just one case of rigging an auction. 189 00:13:42,750 --> 00:13:44,490 And Mastro knows it. 190 00:13:45,470 --> 00:13:46,510 They're a number. 191 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:51,500 of favored consignors, people with close ties to Mastro and the auction house, 192 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:53,660 who were complicit. And it was to their benefit. 193 00:13:53,860 --> 00:13:58,540 They were able to increase the value of the cards and the memorabilia that they 194 00:13:58,540 --> 00:14:02,560 sold so that they made more money. And because the auction house took a cut of 195 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,460 every sale, the auction house also benefited. 196 00:14:06,580 --> 00:14:11,540 It's a win -win, except for the honest bidder getting duped. 197 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:21,940 When American greed returns No one who trades with Bill Mastro is safe It 198 00:14:21,940 --> 00:14:25,140 was almost like there was some maniac sitting behind a computer. 199 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,900 I knew immediately that something was off 200 00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:38,440 I 201 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,520 felt it was very important to recognize 202 00:14:43,530 --> 00:14:45,410 that we're a service industry. 203 00:14:46,510 --> 00:14:51,230 No one really needs collectibles, but they want them. 204 00:14:52,090 --> 00:14:57,710 By the early 2000s, baseball cards are a $3 billion a year business. 205 00:14:57,990 --> 00:15:03,570 And Mastro Auctions is at the forefront, selling thousands of items a year live 206 00:15:03,570 --> 00:15:04,790 and online. 207 00:15:07,530 --> 00:15:12,130 Mastro Auctions is the leading sports in America auction house in the world. 208 00:15:12,410 --> 00:15:18,070 And we back that up with our numbers. But Bill Mastro and his chief operating 209 00:15:18,070 --> 00:15:21,750 officer, Doug Allen, are playing with a stat deck. 210 00:15:22,470 --> 00:15:27,090 He was a highly aggressive, I would call him a bully, in our hobby where he had 211 00:15:27,090 --> 00:15:30,810 to get the best cards, best, the best, the best. And the reason why people 212 00:15:30,810 --> 00:15:35,490 respected him is that he had the best cards to sell. And that's really what 213 00:15:35,490 --> 00:15:39,010 matters in our hobby is who has the best cards to sell. 214 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:44,120 As a criminal defense attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman deals with people charged with 215 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:46,080 serious crimes on a daily basis. 216 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,360 He once won an acquittal for alleged mob boss John Gotti Jr. 217 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,700 and has been retained by accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. 218 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:01,520 He's also an avid collector, and he bids on dozens of items through Mastro 219 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:02,520 Auctions. 220 00:16:02,820 --> 00:16:07,920 And his experience with con men tells him something's not right with Bill 221 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:13,260 Mastro. There would be a tie cobble, and the card would be sitting at a $2 ,000 222 00:16:13,260 --> 00:16:15,000 value for two weeks. 223 00:16:15,500 --> 00:16:18,940 And I would then go on the computer. I would see the card I wanted. So I'd put 224 00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:20,860 my bid in at, let's say, $2 ,100. 225 00:16:21,260 --> 00:16:25,060 I would turn around, and 15 seconds later, I had been outbid. And it would 226 00:16:25,060 --> 00:16:29,420 happen time and time. It was almost like there was some maniac sitting behind a 227 00:16:29,420 --> 00:16:34,900 computer inside the Maslow offices waiting for people to bid so they could 228 00:16:34,900 --> 00:16:35,779 the bid. 229 00:16:35,780 --> 00:16:37,740 I knew immediately that something was off. 230 00:16:38,990 --> 00:16:41,030 That's because Mastro is cheating. 231 00:16:41,670 --> 00:16:46,290 The mysterious bidder upping Lickman's bid isn't trying to win the car. 232 00:16:46,870 --> 00:16:52,770 It's a conspirator trying to raise the prices through a scheme called 233 00:16:52,770 --> 00:16:54,310 shill bidding. 234 00:16:56,230 --> 00:16:58,070 Shill bidding is fraud, basically. 235 00:16:58,890 --> 00:17:02,190 Let's say you've got the high bid. You want to pay $100 for the item. 236 00:17:02,650 --> 00:17:04,410 But I know you'll pay up to $200. 237 00:17:04,670 --> 00:17:10,390 So I'll use either an employee account or I'll make up an account name, and I 238 00:17:10,390 --> 00:17:15,970 will say that that person bid $150 on it. And then you'll see that, so you'll 239 00:17:15,970 --> 00:17:16,868 bid $200. 240 00:17:16,869 --> 00:17:20,790 So I've effectively gotten you to pay twice what you should have paid for 241 00:17:21,450 --> 00:17:23,869 But the scheme comes with some risk. 242 00:17:24,569 --> 00:17:30,030 A shill bidder might accidentally place the winning bid if no one tops it. 243 00:17:30,610 --> 00:17:34,830 That's why it's imperative that they have Mastro auctions on their team. 244 00:17:36,310 --> 00:17:41,410 Just in case they win an item, Mastro can get them out of actually buying it, 245 00:17:41,510 --> 00:17:46,530 either by simply booking the sale or by awarding the sale to the second highest 246 00:17:46,530 --> 00:17:51,170 bidder. Either way, Mastro and the consigner can't lose. 247 00:17:52,170 --> 00:17:57,270 And so you'd have the benefit of increase the price through this bill bid 248 00:17:57,270 --> 00:18:00,970 without the risk that you might actually have to pay the price if someone else 249 00:18:00,970 --> 00:18:02,570 in the market doesn't bid higher than you. 250 00:18:03,850 --> 00:18:05,870 But that is a worst -case scenario. 251 00:18:06,590 --> 00:18:11,750 What Mastro truly intends is for the unwitting collector to buy the item for 252 00:18:11,750 --> 00:18:17,390 jacked -up price, one bid at a time, all to Mastro's benefit. 253 00:18:18,629 --> 00:18:23,730 As an auction house, they take a percentage of the seller's commission, 254 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:27,890 get a commission from the seller that comes out, and then they also are paid a 255 00:18:27,890 --> 00:18:31,510 premium by the buyer, so the buyer's premium. So really, they're making money 256 00:18:31,510 --> 00:18:32,910 off both ends of the transaction. 257 00:18:33,630 --> 00:18:36,270 But it also worked in a less direct way for them. 258 00:18:36,470 --> 00:18:41,190 They could go to collectors and say, you want to sell your stuff through Mastro 259 00:18:41,190 --> 00:18:42,850 Auctions because we get top dollar. 260 00:18:43,750 --> 00:18:47,310 The only loser is the one actually purchasing the item. 261 00:18:47,850 --> 00:18:49,850 But that isn't the last strike. 262 00:18:51,210 --> 00:18:56,530 First and foremost, chill bidding may force an individual to pay more money 263 00:18:56,530 --> 00:18:59,430 an object than what they rightfully should pay. 264 00:19:00,310 --> 00:19:06,210 Second layer to that is it actually creates a false marketplace out there 265 00:19:06,210 --> 00:19:07,270 like objects. 266 00:19:08,270 --> 00:19:12,310 Like a house, you're going to look for what did that house or comparable house 267 00:19:12,310 --> 00:19:15,010 sell for last time it was up for sale. 268 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:20,560 Right? Baseball cards are the same thing. The auction results were 269 00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:24,860 and people would look to those past auction results to dictate how much they 270 00:19:24,860 --> 00:19:25,860 were going to pay in the future. 271 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:32,440 But with prices constantly going up, artificially or not, everyone's 272 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:33,660 is getting more valuable. 273 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:40,100 It may be in many collectors' best interests to turn a blind eye to the 274 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,020 but not everyone sees it that way. 275 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:45,800 People you had paid apologists. 276 00:19:46,380 --> 00:19:48,660 People that needed Mastro's business. 277 00:19:48,900 --> 00:19:53,880 And you had 10 % of schmucks like me who just was walking in and getting my head 278 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:54,880 handed to me. 279 00:19:55,700 --> 00:20:02,600 When American Greed returns, Mastro turns a profit -selling hair from the 280 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,240 famous pompadour in history. 281 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:08,340 But do these locks really belong to the king? 282 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:09,860 An individual. 283 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,860 who purchased that hair, decided to get that hair DNA tested. 284 00:20:27,460 --> 00:20:32,820 By the early 2000s, the pursuit of rare baseball cards has become big business. 285 00:20:34,020 --> 00:20:36,600 But it's also succumbed to another pursuit. 286 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:38,840 Greed. 287 00:20:39,660 --> 00:20:44,600 And while some people long for the good old days, not everyone on collectors' 288 00:20:44,820 --> 00:20:47,760 message boards is so eager to see the light. 289 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:52,680 I happened to make a comment saying, you know, I don't know what's going on with 290 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,260 Mastro, but something's not right. 291 00:20:56,060 --> 00:20:59,920 And what I expected is that people would say, hey, you know, we've been in 292 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,720 Mastro options. We really want to hear your hypothesis. 293 00:21:02,980 --> 00:21:06,540 We know that you're a criminal lawyer that deals with fraud all day. 294 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:08,240 what you say may have some weight. 295 00:21:09,010 --> 00:21:14,090 Instead, I was an act in the board and I was shocked, frankly, at the response 296 00:21:14,090 --> 00:21:19,530 because I thought I was helping people. And instead, how dare you say that about 297 00:21:19,530 --> 00:21:20,530 Bill Mastro? 298 00:21:21,570 --> 00:21:27,350 The message board may have defenders, but not everyone is on behind Bill 299 00:21:28,990 --> 00:21:34,810 In 2007, Ryan Kristof believes he's a victim of shill bidding himself. 300 00:21:35,550 --> 00:21:38,790 and wants Mastro Auctions to stop fixing the game. 301 00:21:40,010 --> 00:21:42,230 I spoke with Doug Allen. I told him what I suspected. 302 00:21:42,450 --> 00:21:45,970 He said, nope, no way, no shield bidding at all. Everything was totally legit. 303 00:21:47,270 --> 00:21:53,530 So, you know, I thought about it more, and I just decided, no, I'm not paying. 304 00:21:53,930 --> 00:22:00,750 And after a while, I got an email threatening to ban me, and I fired back 305 00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:03,890 a very unpleasant email just telling him, 306 00:22:04,730 --> 00:22:08,030 I'll go to the FBI. I'll go to whoever I have to. 307 00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:15,050 But according to former Assistant U .S. Attorney Stephen Grimes, law enforcement 308 00:22:15,050 --> 00:22:19,590 is already hearing about the various frauds arising from Mastro auctions. 309 00:22:20,050 --> 00:22:22,550 And it's not limited to shill bidding. 310 00:22:23,850 --> 00:22:28,090 I would say nothing was beyond possible at the auction house. 311 00:22:28,630 --> 00:22:34,010 We heard everything across the gamut in terms of accusations of what was done. 312 00:22:34,830 --> 00:22:40,210 In the early 2000s, Mastro Auctions sold a baseball that is purportedly from the 313 00:22:40,210 --> 00:22:45,810 very first professional baseball team, the 1869 Red Stockings baseball team. 314 00:22:45,810 --> 00:22:50,730 individual had the object in his collection for a number of years and 315 00:22:50,730 --> 00:22:56,110 became uncomfortable with the object, so sent it away for forensic testing, 316 00:22:56,330 --> 00:22:58,270 microscopic paint fleck analysis. 317 00:22:58,870 --> 00:23:04,290 The analysis revealed that the paint used on that baseball was manufactured 318 00:23:04,290 --> 00:23:05,430 -World War II. 319 00:23:07,350 --> 00:23:08,870 Post -World War II. 320 00:23:09,270 --> 00:23:12,190 That's the era of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. 321 00:23:12,770 --> 00:23:17,530 In 1869, they wouldn't even be born for almost 50 years. 322 00:23:18,390 --> 00:23:20,130 The ball is a fraud. 323 00:23:20,830 --> 00:23:25,790 Instead of going to law enforcement, the buyer returned it to Mastro for a full 324 00:23:25,790 --> 00:23:29,570 refund. But that's not the end of this ball's history. 325 00:23:30,950 --> 00:23:32,270 Once Mastro Oxen... 326 00:23:32,620 --> 00:23:37,140 Had that ball back in their possession, Bill Mastro reached out to an individual 327 00:23:37,140 --> 00:23:42,260 and asked that individual if he would be interested in purchasing this ball for 328 00:23:42,260 --> 00:23:43,260 his collection. 329 00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:48,700 Mr. Mastro did not disclose the results of the forensic testing that was done on 330 00:23:48,700 --> 00:23:49,700 that single ball. 331 00:23:50,060 --> 00:23:54,400 That individual paid approximately $61 ,000 for that trophy ball. 332 00:23:56,060 --> 00:24:00,480 That's an extraordinary sum of money for an ordinary baseball painted gold. 333 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:09,240 But apparently, the lure of the national pastime is too much to resist. 334 00:24:09,700 --> 00:24:13,560 And that's really what happened in this field with Mastro and the other 335 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:18,220 fraudsters, is that people, their brains were simply falling out of their heads, 336 00:24:18,260 --> 00:24:23,000 and their competitiveness and their desire, their zeal to relive the joy of 337 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,540 their childhood when opening up that pack of baseball cards, that took over. 338 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:29,800 You know, one thing's always certain, baseball's king. 339 00:24:30,780 --> 00:24:31,780 The highest. 340 00:24:31,930 --> 00:24:36,070 selling sports card is a baseball card. The highest selling sports memorabilia 341 00:24:36,070 --> 00:24:37,790 jersey is a baseball jersey. 342 00:24:38,050 --> 00:24:42,570 The highest price paid for a sports autograph is that of a baseball player. 343 00:24:42,570 --> 00:24:44,250 mean, baseball's always going to be king. 344 00:24:46,310 --> 00:24:49,250 But Mastro doesn't limit himself to baseball. 345 00:24:49,870 --> 00:24:55,590 Any collectible can pass through his doors, including that of another king. 346 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:01,160 avid Elvis Presley collectors out there would be interested in owning a piece of 347 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:02,099 the King's hair. 348 00:25:02,100 --> 00:25:06,720 Well, smash through auctions claimed to have a jar full of Elvis Presley's hair. 349 00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:11,860 And ultimately that item was tested by the person who purchased it. 350 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:18,380 And the DNA results of that test showed that not only was it not Elvis Presley's 351 00:25:18,380 --> 00:25:20,600 hair, but it was the hair of four random people. 352 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,300 The jar of hair was returned to Master Auctions along with the DNA test showing 353 00:25:25,300 --> 00:25:28,880 that it wasn't what Master Auctions had claimed it was. 354 00:25:30,860 --> 00:25:36,440 Mastro returns the buyer's money, but only if the buyer agrees to keep quiet. 355 00:25:37,380 --> 00:25:42,300 They signed an NDA agreement in return for the exchange of the money that they 356 00:25:42,300 --> 00:25:43,300 paid for it originally. 357 00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:48,140 What Master Auctions did with the hair after that was they took the one jar of 358 00:25:48,140 --> 00:25:54,370 hair. put it into four smaller jars of hair, and resold each jar subsequent 359 00:25:54,370 --> 00:26:00,470 draw auctions without disclosing the fact of the DNA report seriously calling 360 00:26:00,470 --> 00:26:03,350 into question the authenticity of that Elvis Presley hair. 361 00:26:04,510 --> 00:26:10,630 The jars of hair sell for a combined price of nearly $40 ,000 to unwitting 362 00:26:10,630 --> 00:26:11,630 buyers. 363 00:26:12,330 --> 00:26:14,370 It's an egregious deceit. 364 00:26:14,810 --> 00:26:18,590 But deceit isn't the limit of what Mastro Auctions is willing to do. 365 00:26:19,390 --> 00:26:22,550 If they can, they'll just outright steal. 366 00:26:25,250 --> 00:26:26,790 When American Greed returned, 367 00:26:27,530 --> 00:26:30,650 an Illinois collector believes he struck gold. 368 00:26:31,930 --> 00:26:36,650 But his treasure vanishes into thin air the moment he walks into Mastro 369 00:26:36,650 --> 00:26:37,650 Auctions. 370 00:26:38,010 --> 00:26:40,290 What they're basically running is a jail game. 371 00:26:40,730 --> 00:26:44,210 They get your cards, they're going to pay you what they want to pay you. 372 00:26:44,590 --> 00:26:45,910 What are you going to do about it? 373 00:26:59,630 --> 00:27:06,050 In 2007, Jeff Evers walks into the headquarters of Mastro Auctions just 374 00:27:06,050 --> 00:27:12,070 of Chicago to consign what he believes is a gold mine of classic rare baseball 375 00:27:12,070 --> 00:27:13,070 cards. 376 00:27:14,410 --> 00:27:20,690 They had said that in April of 2007, Mastro had sold a Henry Aaron rookie 377 00:27:20,690 --> 00:27:22,270 for over $16 ,000. 378 00:27:22,630 --> 00:27:25,230 And I had that card in pristine condition. 379 00:27:25,770 --> 00:27:28,990 So I thought, that's the place to go to. 380 00:27:30,750 --> 00:27:34,890 As he sits in the lobby, he thinks all his hopes are confirmed. 381 00:27:36,010 --> 00:27:39,810 And inside this place, they had all the trappings of success. 382 00:27:40,970 --> 00:27:43,850 Fancy woodwork. It was a beautiful facility. 383 00:27:44,630 --> 00:27:50,870 And next to me were some previous auction books with Price is Realized 384 00:27:51,510 --> 00:27:58,230 And I saw that the prices that my cards were going to go for were tremendous. 385 00:27:59,590 --> 00:28:04,050 Evers says that he is soon brought into a conference room with a representative 386 00:28:04,050 --> 00:28:05,350 of Mastro Auctions. 387 00:28:06,290 --> 00:28:09,130 But soon after seeing the cards... 388 00:28:09,470 --> 00:28:12,290 the representative suddenly cuts the meeting short. 389 00:28:12,630 --> 00:28:17,710 Like he's in a big hurry, and, oh, he's got to meet this guy and blah, blah, 390 00:28:17,730 --> 00:28:24,710 blah. He finishes his inventory sheet for me, and it was a skeletal inventory. 391 00:28:25,130 --> 00:28:31,490 He didn't detail the cards. He didn't give me photographs of the cards. I 392 00:28:31,490 --> 00:28:35,370 expected that that would occur, but he didn't do any of that. 393 00:28:36,330 --> 00:28:37,970 It's a lot of red flags. 394 00:28:38,830 --> 00:28:42,970 But Mastro Auctions has the reputation for getting the best prices. 395 00:28:43,790 --> 00:28:46,930 Evers decides to hand over his cards. 396 00:28:47,470 --> 00:28:52,810 He just sold a Henry Aaron rookie card for $16 ,000 plus five months ago, and I 397 00:28:52,810 --> 00:28:53,729 have one. 398 00:28:53,730 --> 00:28:55,150 It's got to be legit. 399 00:28:55,530 --> 00:28:57,090 It wouldn't rip me off. 400 00:28:59,050 --> 00:29:03,790 But after the auction is over, Evers has serious concerns. 401 00:29:05,930 --> 00:29:10,870 They never even mentioned that the Napoleon Lajoie card, the card number 402 00:29:10,930 --> 00:29:15,590 the second rarest card in all the baseball card collection, was even in 403 00:29:15,790 --> 00:29:17,950 So that card outright disappeared. 404 00:29:19,070 --> 00:29:24,170 Not only does Evers believe that some of his cards disappear, he believes that 405 00:29:24,170 --> 00:29:27,510 the ones that are sold are severely misadvertised. 406 00:29:27,710 --> 00:29:32,470 They're given low ratings and treated as second -class cards. 407 00:29:34,350 --> 00:29:40,990 The total gavel price on all 1 ,500 or so cards was a little over $49 ,000. 408 00:29:41,730 --> 00:29:47,490 And they charged me the 15 % to defraud me. 409 00:29:48,290 --> 00:29:51,950 I believe that I got taken for at least another $300 ,000. 410 00:29:52,910 --> 00:29:56,070 And you know what? It could be a lot more. 411 00:29:58,910 --> 00:30:02,730 Evers feels that Mastro Auctions misrepresents the cards. 412 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:08,180 so that they can buy them themselves on the cheap, at which point they can later 413 00:30:08,180 --> 00:30:10,280 sell them off for much more money. 414 00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:18,020 Well, the catalog on the left is from the December 2007 auction, as they 415 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:19,300 advertised it for me. 416 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:24,780 In here, you see the Babe Ruth card that they have graded out with a lesser 417 00:30:24,780 --> 00:30:31,660 grade. And then later, after Mastro took control of my cards, now that card... 418 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:37,720 is being sold separately, advertised as excellent cement condition, and the 419 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,560 difference between those gratings is exponential. 420 00:30:41,540 --> 00:30:48,380 If you superimpose this card onto that card, that will prove that it is the 421 00:30:48,380 --> 00:30:49,380 same card. 422 00:30:50,660 --> 00:30:57,180 My belief is those cards never left their facility at that point in time 423 00:30:57,180 --> 00:30:58,360 after that sale. 424 00:30:59,060 --> 00:31:00,380 They could be laughing. 425 00:31:00,940 --> 00:31:04,320 When they watch the show, yeah, we got them for a lot more than that. 426 00:31:06,180 --> 00:31:08,240 But they won't be laughing for long. 427 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:18,840 When American Greed returns, law enforcement raises the stakes for Mastro 428 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:19,840 Auctions. 429 00:31:20,380 --> 00:31:25,100 While the fraud was going on, while the grand jury investigation was going on, 430 00:31:25,180 --> 00:31:27,340 while the FBI agent was... 431 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:32,560 beating down doors to find witnesses for Mastro's fraud, they were committing 432 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:33,560 more fraud. 433 00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:46,260 Bill Mastro and Doug Allen are getting top dollar for baseball cards and other 434 00:31:46,260 --> 00:31:49,580 collectibles. But their numbers are juiced. 435 00:31:51,300 --> 00:31:55,000 And law enforcement wants to level the playing field. 436 00:31:55,850 --> 00:32:00,910 The federal wire fraud statute makes it a crime for somebody to use false 437 00:32:00,910 --> 00:32:05,670 statements for the purpose of gaining money. That's really the main criteria. 438 00:32:05,870 --> 00:32:09,190 And when you boil it down to its elements, it clearly is that. 439 00:32:10,110 --> 00:32:14,190 In every master auctions catalog, there were six pages of rule. 440 00:32:14,630 --> 00:32:18,710 Rule number one, that items will be sold to the highest bidder. 441 00:32:19,510 --> 00:32:20,630 That wasn't true. 442 00:32:21,170 --> 00:32:23,570 All items were not sold to the highest bidder. 443 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,920 Items were only sold to the highest bidder if master auctions or one of 444 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:34,160 favorite consignors agreed that the highest bidder was paying an appropriate 445 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,600 price. There's where the fraud is. 446 00:32:37,540 --> 00:32:42,620 They also don't tell customers that they may be bidding against people who have 447 00:32:42,620 --> 00:32:45,380 no intention of buying the item in question. 448 00:32:46,820 --> 00:32:51,180 Before long, law enforcement is ready to end this game. 449 00:32:51,930 --> 00:32:57,270 And the entire sports collecting industry knows that Mastro Auctions is 450 00:32:57,270 --> 00:32:58,410 its last strike. 451 00:32:58,950 --> 00:33:03,190 You would go to the card shows and you would see the FBI agent and there'd be a 452 00:33:03,190 --> 00:33:09,070 guy from the IRS and federal agents walking around and they're handing 453 00:33:09,070 --> 00:33:10,070 to people. 454 00:33:10,330 --> 00:33:15,130 And then we knew for certain that the FBI was really interested in these guys. 455 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:21,820 The FBI learns that using other people's accounts to shill bid is a common 456 00:33:21,820 --> 00:33:27,080 practice at Mastro auctions, particularly for Bill Mastro himself. 457 00:33:30,460 --> 00:33:34,820 And his brazen disregard for concealing his fraud is apparent. 458 00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:41,260 So much so that it became a joke within the auction house, and Mr. Mastro became 459 00:33:41,260 --> 00:33:42,860 embarrassed of the joke. 460 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:45,120 So he went to this... 461 00:33:45,340 --> 00:33:50,560 IT director and asked that the underbidder records from those auctions 462 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,480 removed so that there would be no evidence of the shill bidding. 463 00:33:54,740 --> 00:33:57,560 If you get rid of the underbidder records, you can only see the person who 464 00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:58,399 the item. 465 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,540 And shill bidding is all about how they got to that price. 466 00:34:02,140 --> 00:34:06,880 That basically not only destroyed evidence related to historical shill 467 00:34:06,980 --> 00:34:13,280 but ensured that from 2003 to 2007 that those records would not be available to 468 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:14,280 law enforcement. 469 00:34:15,230 --> 00:34:20,469 It's a devious but ultimately effective way to keep investigators from seeing 470 00:34:20,469 --> 00:34:23,850 what is actually going on at Mastro Auctions. 471 00:34:24,870 --> 00:34:29,449 And that created difficulty in this investigation when we decided ultimately 472 00:34:29,449 --> 00:34:33,409 what the loss numbers were going to be. Because the investigation was 473 00:34:33,409 --> 00:34:38,889 handicapped from the fact that during the charging period, there were 56 474 00:34:38,889 --> 00:34:44,790 Auctions. Each auction could have anywhere between 1 ,500 and 2 ,200 475 00:34:44,790 --> 00:34:45,790 auction lots. 476 00:34:47,909 --> 00:34:53,010 That's tens of thousands of auction lots with potential shill bids that law 477 00:34:53,010 --> 00:34:54,790 enforcement may never uncover. 478 00:34:55,850 --> 00:35:02,610 But remarkably, as the FBI begins poking around in 2007, Mastro decides to 479 00:35:02,610 --> 00:35:07,370 become more transparent and issues a mandate to keep a record of all bids. 480 00:35:08,060 --> 00:35:10,640 including shill bids in their auctions. 481 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:16,680 Even under investigation, Mastro thinks he's unhittable. 482 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:22,600 My sense was he knew it was unethical and didn't think it was criminal, and he 483 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:23,399 went forward. 484 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:27,500 I realize it's wrong, but, you know, show me the rule that says I can't do 485 00:35:28,860 --> 00:35:34,300 Despite keeping complete records going forward, the fraud itself doesn't stop. 486 00:35:38,370 --> 00:35:41,290 could not be satisfied. They did not know when to stop. 487 00:35:42,390 --> 00:35:46,810 And if you're a Bill Master who absolutely cannot control himself, you 488 00:35:46,830 --> 00:35:51,370 again, there's a penny on the ground. That guy is running you over with his 489 00:35:51,370 --> 00:35:54,930 to grab that penny. And then he'll back up and run over you again so you can't 490 00:35:54,930 --> 00:35:56,410 be a witness against him at the trial. 491 00:35:57,050 --> 00:36:00,050 That's the kind of guy Bill Master was, and Allen was the same way. 492 00:36:02,940 --> 00:36:07,540 Whether because of the fraud investigation or the economic downturn 493 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:13,760 Mastro Auctions suddenly can't get the items or the bids to keep the company 494 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:18,960 going. They declare bankruptcy in 2009 and shutter their doors. 495 00:36:21,420 --> 00:36:28,380 But this fraud is going to extra innings when American 496 00:36:28,380 --> 00:36:29,380 Greed returns. 497 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:35,000 Mastro and Alan continue to try to stay a step ahead of the card collecting 498 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,000 community. 499 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:41,700 But there's one blast for me that cannot be abided. 500 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:44,960 He bragged about trimming that card. 501 00:36:45,300 --> 00:36:50,280 It was sort of like he couldn't help himself. He had to tell people, I pulled 502 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:51,280 one on the world. 503 00:37:05,580 --> 00:37:11,920 By 2009, the FBI and the Department of Justice are squeezing in on Bill Mastro 504 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:12,920 and his associates. 505 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:20,720 And once again, the valuable Honus Wagner card is at the center of the 506 00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:27,280 The final nail in the coffin for him was the FBI had got one of Mastro employees 507 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:33,740 to wear a wire, and this guy got... Bill to tell him the story about how 508 00:37:33,740 --> 00:37:35,160 he had trimmed the card. 509 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:40,500 Bill Mastro discussed the condition of the card when he purchased it, talked 510 00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:46,040 about how it had bowed side borders shaped like a football, and how he 511 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:49,600 the sides of that card in order to make it more attractive. 512 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:57,460 To most baseball card collectors, altering a card's appearance, 513 00:37:57,460 --> 00:37:59,800 Honus Wagner, is sacrilege. 514 00:38:00,490 --> 00:38:04,110 I mean, that is like, you know, painting the edges of the Mona Lisa. 515 00:38:04,870 --> 00:38:11,430 To do that to this card really is, I can't even think of words to describe 516 00:38:11,450 --> 00:38:12,450 It's abhorrent. 517 00:38:13,430 --> 00:38:17,830 It's about like a car having all original parts. It's just not the same 518 00:38:17,830 --> 00:38:21,650 had to replace, you know, something on it. So same thing with a baseball card. 519 00:38:21,810 --> 00:38:25,290 The corner got dinged. You want the corner to remain dinged. That's what 520 00:38:25,290 --> 00:38:27,810 happened in the history of that card. That's what happened. 521 00:38:28,700 --> 00:38:32,640 But Mastro seems to care more about money than preserving history. 522 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,140 And to law enforcement, Mastro is guilty of more than blasphemy. 523 00:38:37,740 --> 00:38:39,360 He's guilty of fraud. 524 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:46,260 Bill Mastro cut the edges of that card with a paper cutter to make it look more 525 00:38:46,260 --> 00:38:51,220 pristine, to make it look better, and then sold the card or was involved in 526 00:38:51,220 --> 00:38:54,640 sale of that card numerous times without disclosing to anybody in the market 527 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:56,540 that he had manipulated the card. 528 00:38:57,100 --> 00:39:00,560 It took it from something that can't even be graded, it's not even on the 529 00:39:00,740 --> 00:39:05,080 to the most pristine, highest rated Honus Wagner card in the universe. 530 00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:08,300 What's the value of that card right now? 531 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:13,460 You don't know. I mean, it's worth what somebody is willing to pay for that 532 00:39:13,460 --> 00:39:17,180 card. It was sold privately for $2 .7 million. 533 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:23,460 So it's still a beautiful card, but it's a beautiful trimmed card. 534 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:30,880 In addition to that fraud, the Department of Justice determines that 535 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:37,520 Auctions conducts shill bidding in 2 ,463 auctions in just over six 536 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,660 years. But before that, it could have been much worse. 537 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:48,900 Nevertheless, Mastro's legacy on the sports collectible industry is still 538 00:39:48,900 --> 00:39:49,900 today. 539 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:53,820 He certainly popularized this hobby. 540 00:39:54,410 --> 00:40:00,790 But at the same time, he made it where, because of his greed, that a card that 541 00:40:00,790 --> 00:40:06,110 sold for $1 ,000 that perhaps should have sold for $500, it then ruined all 542 00:40:06,110 --> 00:40:07,450 card sales going forward. 543 00:40:07,910 --> 00:40:12,330 And really what happens is now, if you've got a collection and you've 544 00:40:12,330 --> 00:40:16,230 over the last 10 or 15 years, consider the fact that you probably have about a 545 00:40:16,230 --> 00:40:17,230 25 %... 546 00:40:17,720 --> 00:40:21,940 tax off the top, a fraud tax, because you've been duped, you've been shilled, 547 00:40:22,100 --> 00:40:26,680 you've been defrauded to, I would guess, probably at least 25 % of your 548 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:27,680 collection. 549 00:40:28,500 --> 00:40:31,060 There's really some fitting sort of bookends on this. 550 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,980 In large part, he created this industry. 551 00:40:34,300 --> 00:40:39,460 And then I think what the mark he ultimately left as he left the industry 552 00:40:39,460 --> 00:40:40,460 equally as important. 553 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:44,820 This was the first time that the federal government had really stuck its nose in 554 00:40:44,820 --> 00:40:47,440 and put its foot down and said, this conduct is illegal. 555 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:51,620 And I do believe this sent a strong message to the industry, and we're 556 00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:56,500 that it has cleaned up actions that have been subsequent to this and other 557 00:40:56,500 --> 00:40:58,320 auction houses operating in the same space. 558 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:04,260 In August 2014, Doug Allen pleads guilty to wire fraud. 559 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:08,360 After the contentious sentencing process, 560 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:13,500 His punishment puts him behind bars for a long 57 months. 561 00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:17,740 Bill Mastro, however, cooperates with the government. 562 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:24,040 He pleads guilty to mail fraud and receives a brief 20 -month sentence. 563 00:41:24,540 --> 00:41:25,680 He is now free. 564 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:30,480 It's a fact that doesn't sit well with some of his victims. 565 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:35,340 Well, I'll say this. If someone wants to give me millions and millions of 566 00:41:35,340 --> 00:41:36,680 dollars to... 567 00:41:37,250 --> 00:41:42,730 spend 20 months in a minimum security federal penitentiary i've signed me up 568 00:41:42,730 --> 00:41:47,570 that so the big lesson you know in a lot of this sadly the big lesson is that 569 00:41:47,570 --> 00:41:53,470 crime absolutely pays and it pays a lot but both of them have to live knowing 570 00:41:53,470 --> 00:41:58,390 that one is bill mastro and one is doug allen i wouldn't want that for i i mean 571 00:41:58,390 --> 00:42:02,590 i'll take being broke any day or being bill mastro or doug allen 572 00:42:03,790 --> 00:42:09,370 A cruel Internet fraud leaves a trail of broken hearts and empty wallets. Every 573 00:42:09,370 --> 00:42:12,590 day they're out there trolling the Internet looking for unsuspecting 574 00:42:12,830 --> 00:42:15,390 All new American Greed next Monday, 10 Eastern. 575 00:42:15,830 --> 00:42:17,410 CNBC. Get yours. 576 00:42:18,810 --> 00:42:22,850 The early bird gets the worm. And the corner office, too.