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MINNESOTA,USA (Commodity Online): The rising value of gold and other precious metals creates a greater opportunity for fraud, according to authorities in Minnesota.Several fraudulent coin investment firms have popped up in the Minneapolis-area, misrepresenting coin values, selling fake coins and persuading the elderly to take out reverse-mortgages on their homes to pay for coins at excessive prices, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Saturday.
The newspaper said there are about 30 Minnesota firms marketing coins to about a half million serious collectors and investors in a multibillion-dollar industry nationwide. The Minnesota attorney general’s office is investigating a half dozen companies for possible fraud.
“This industry is somewhat like the Wild West,” spokesman Ben Wogsland told the Star Tribune.
Investors turn to gold — now over $1,500 an ounce — silver, platinum and other precious metals as a protection against inflation. The valuable metals are sold and traded in many forms with bars and uncirculated bullion coins being the most profitable for consumers. Many coin buyers are elderly people, whom scam artists see as easy targets for fraud, the newspaper said.
Few lawyers will take on these cases as fraud is difficult to prove, even though the problem is on the rise; 19 complaints have been made to the Federal Trade Commission in the past year while five complaints had been average in previous years.
Experts say the problem is worse than statistics show because many people who are swindled never contact authorities because they are embarrassed or lack documentation of their losses.
“What I’m finding is that Minnesota is becoming the poster child for this rare-coin industry fraud,” says Roseville, Minn., police Detective Marc Schultz.
Edina dealer Gary Adkins, who is the American Numismatic Association’s Coin Dealer of the Year, says most firms are on the up-and-up but acknowledges there are problems in the industry. (iWireNews.com and OfficialWire)
Defendants Turn Tables in New Suit
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By Numismatic News April 11, 2011 |
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Claims that a widely publicized law suit was demonstrably false and that its high profile corporate plaintiff maliciously prosecuted it against three well-known coin dealers, is now on the docket in southern California in a case filed March 24 and assigned to Judge Robert J. Moss.
Superior Court, Orange County, is the venue for a suit against Collectors Universe (the parent company of the Professional Coin Grading Service), three lawyers, and a respected Tustin, Calif., business and real estate law firm.
The suit is brought by three dealers who had been accused by PCGS last May 13, 2010, of conduct that violated the federal “Lanham Act” and the California Unfair Competition statute.
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Collectors Universe claimed then that these three experienced numismatists tried to pull the wool over their eyes and submitted coins for “slabbing” on which “work” had been done to improve their visual appearance.
PCGS also claimed breach of contract – submitters must contractually pledge not to knowingly submit doctored coins (no use of putty, lasers and the like to enhance a coin’s appearance and its putative value), and common law fraud, which requires no written agreement at all.
At the heart of the PCGS claim against the dealers, is that “ ‘coin doctors’ have submitted ‘doctored’ United States coins to PCGS for grading on multiple occasions for a period of years, either directly through dealers … or indirectly through other dealers.”
They give examples of that including a claim that “Defendants knew that these coins had been “doctored,” by themselves and/or by other persons engaged by them for that purpose. Their methods included lasering the surfaces of extremely rare proof gold coins to remove surface imperfections, building up commonly worn or weakly struck portions of coins with exotic metals and other physical and chemical processes.”
On Dec. 13, 2010, the court dismissed with prejudice Collectors Universe’s claim.
This allows all three men to claim that the underlying prosecution of the civil claim was improper – and to bring a claim for damages against Collector’s Universe. Their theory: malicious prosecution.
Malicious prosecution is a tort action and is the remedy for baseless and malicious litigation.
The three dealers seek damages of at least $100,000 and punitive damages from Collectors Universe. Thus far, the defendants who must be served with process have yet to respond.
Anticipate that the next legal action will be either an answer to the complaint or a motion addressed to it.
Class-action suit accuses UBS of Charging Storage Fees On “Phantom” Silver.
Posted by CoinWeek on April 2, 2011 10:57 PM
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RSS FeedIn 1984, Michigan resident Laurin Ramsey purchased 10 pieces of 100 ounce pure silver bars from the Swiss bank UBS or its Paine Webber subsidiary. Ever since, he had paid $25 per month for storage fees.
A few years ago, he tired of paying the storage fees and contacted the bank to arrange delivery.
Instead of delivery, Ramsey only got the runaround. When he finally asked to be given the serial numbers on the bars and the location of the vault where they were stored, he was told that the bars did not have serial numbers (not true!).
Mr Ramsey started calling Patrick Heller of Liberty Coin Service for advice on standard industry practices and for ideas on how he could take delivery of these bars.
At one point, the bank said his only option was to sell the bars back to the bank for cash. But Mr Ramsey did not want to close out his position.
On February 23, 2011, the Ramsey Personal Trust, by Laurin D. Ramsey was the lead plaintiff in a suit filed in the Federal District of Southern New York against UBS Financial Services, Inc., et al. The case number is 1:2011cv01256. Presiding judge is Jed S. Rakoff. The charges are that UBS had never purchased, segregated, or stored the silver, then had illegally charged storage fees for the phantom silver.
The lawsuit can be found here: http://www.gata.org/files/RamseyV.UBS_.pdf
Avery Goodman explains the suit in his Seeking Alpha article,
“According to the lawsuit, customers were charged storage fees every month, even though the bank was not actually storing anything. It never purchased any physical silver. Instead, the bank allegedly used customer cash for its own purposes. In effect, customers ended up buying a non-interest bearing silver bond. Such bonds, based on a promise of repayment in precious metals, were typically issued in the late 19th and early 20th century. Back then, they bore a nice interest rate, payable in gold or silver. Today’s version of the precious metal bond is unallocated storage, which takes money from investors but pays them nothing at all.
A very similar lawsuit was filed, in 2007, against Morgan Stanley (MS). In that case, small investors were also claiming they had been defrauded into participating in unallocated metals storage. The bank defended itself by alleging, among other defenses, that it was simply following standard industry practices. In other words, the amount of information given to customers, the unallocated nature of the scheme, as well as the charging of “storage fees” for imaginary metal were “standard industry practices”. In light of what we now know, maybe they were telling the truth. Morgan Stanley did eventually settle for a multi-million dollar payout, but it continued to deny liability. UBS has not yet answered. We don’t know yet what their response may be.
The law firm representing the plaintiffs is Schoengold & Sporn, P.C. The individual attorney handling the case is Samuel E. Sporn. He can be reached at 212- 964-0046 and welcomes calls from anyone concerned about storage fees they have paid to UBS.
In 2007, Sporn was the attorney who won the $4.4 million judgment against Morgan Stanley mentioned above.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/12/idUSN1228014520070612
Jury Delivers Guilty Verdict in Liberty Dollar Trial
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By David C. Harper, Numismatic News March 24, 2011 |
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The Liberty Dollar’s creator, Bernard von NotHaus, was convicted March 18 of “making coins resembling and similar to United States coins” and “issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money,” among other charges.
In other words, counterfeiting.
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Where the federal jury in Statesville, N.C., and the prosecution sees counterfeiting, the coin hobby sees the creator of beautiful exonomia in gold and silver, or the advocate of the gold standard instead of unbacked paper money.
Federal officials also see gold. On April 4 a forfeiture trial will begin to determine whether the government is entitled to claim almost $7 million in Liberty Dollars and precious metals that was seized when von NotHaus was arrested more almost two years ago.
Von Nothaus also is facing multiple prison terms totaling 20 years and multiple fines that could total as much as $500,000 as well as loss of his seized property.
Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, likened the creation and potential use of Liberty Dollars this way: “Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism.”
That characterization caused a fire storm of protest online and in various newspapers by gold standard advocates.
Liberty Dollar coins were created in 1998, though they did not look any genuine U.S. coins, they used the dollar sign, “the words dollar, USA, Liberty, Trust in God and other devices that the Department of Justice said were “associated with legitimate U.S. coins.”
They were marketed by the Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code, or NORFED for short. It was based in Evansville, Ind.
The investigation began in 2005 and was conducted by FBI, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Secret Service.
Von Nothaus is 67. He first rose to prominence among coin collectors for his operation of the private Royal Hawaiian Mint, which struck medals using the images and devices of the old Hawaiian kings and queens.
US Attorney Says Attempts To Use “Liberty Dollar” As Money Is Domestic Terrorism – Von Nothaus Found Guilty
Posted by CoinWeek on March 21, 2011 10:32 PM
Liberty Dollar creator and self proclaimed “monetary architect” Bernard Von NotHaus was found guilty in US federal court in North Carolina on Friday of Counterfeiting and Fraud. The Justice Department asserted that Von NotHaus was placing gold, and silver coins, along with precious metals currency into circulation with the purpose of mixing them “into the current money of the United States.”
Von NotHaus developed the Liberty Dollar in 1998. as an “inflation-proof” alternative currency to the U.S. Dollar, which he has claimed has devalued since the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. The silver and gold “coins” were produced by a private mint in Idaho on behalf of the Evansville, Illinois-based Liberty Services, which also issues paper notes which the group says are backed by silver reserves.
In November of 2007, federal officials raided the group’s headquarters, located in a strip mall and seized all documents and the gold and silver that backed up the paper certificates and digital currency being distributed thought Liberty Services website. In addition all coins, bullion and even the dies used to strike the Liberty dollar coins held in the vault at the Sunshine Mint has also been confiscated.
The following is the fill statement issued by the US Attorney’s Office after the guilty verdict was announced:
Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted today by a federal jury of making, possessing and selling his own coins, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following an eight-day trial and less than two hours of deliberation, von NotHaus, the founder and monetary architect of a currency known as the Liberty Dollar, was found guilty by a jury in Statesville, North Carolina, of making coins resembling and similar to United States coins, of issuing, passing, selling, and possessing Liberty Dollar coins, of issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money, and of conspiracy against the United States.
The guilty verdict concluded an investigation which began in 2005 and involved the minting of Liberty Dollar coins with a current value of approximately $7 million. Joining the U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins in making today’s announcement are Edward J. Montooth, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division, Russell F. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Division, and Sheriff Van Duncan of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the evidence introduced during the trial, von NotHaus was the founder of an organization called the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code, commonly known as NORFED and also known as Liberty Services. Von NotHaus was the president of NORFED and the Executive Director of Liberty Dollar Services, Inc. until on or about September 30, 2008.
NORFED Ron Paul for Predisent Gold Coin 2008Von NotHaus designed the Liberty Dollar currency in 1998 and the Liberty coins were marked with the “$”, the word dollar, USA, Liberty, Trust in God (instead of In God We Trust) and other features associated with legitimate U.S. coinage. Since 1998, NORFED has been issuing, disseminating, and placing into circulation the Liberty Dollar in all its forms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. NORFED’s purpose was to mix Liberty Dollars into the current money of the United States. NORFED intended for the Liberty Dollar to be used as current money in order to limit reliance on, and to compete with, United States currency.
In coordination with the Department of Justice, on September 14, 2006, the United States Mint issued a press release and warning to American citizens that the Liberty Dollar was “not legal tender.” The Mint press release and public service announcement stated that the Department of Justice had determined that the use of Liberty Dollars as circulating money was a federal crime.
Article I, section 8, clause 5 of the United States Constitution delegates to Congress the power to coin Money and to regulate the Value thereof. This power was delegated to Congress in order to establish and preserve a uniform standard of value and to insure a singular monetary system for all purchases and debts in the United States, public and private.
Along with the power to coin money, Congress has the concurrent power to restrain the circulation of money which is not issued under its own authority in order to protect and preserve the constitutional currency for the benefit of all citizens of the nation. It is a violation of federal law for individuals, such as von NotHaus, or organizations, such as NORFED to create private coin or currency systems to compete with the official coinage and currency of the United States.
Von NotHaus, who remains free on bond, faces a sentence of up to fifteen years imprisonment on Count Two of the Indictment and a fine of not more than $250,000. Von NotHaus faces a prison sentence of five years and fines of $250,000 on both Counts One and Three. In addition, the United States is seeking the forfeiture of approximately 16,000 pounds of Liberty Dollar coins and precious metals, currently valued at nearly $7 million. The forfeiture trial, which began today before United States District Court Judge Richard Voorhees, will resume on April 4, 2011 in the federal courthouse in Statesville. Judge Voorhees has not yet set a date for the sentencing of von NotHaus.
“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,” US Attorney Tompkins said in announcing the verdict. “While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country,” she added. “We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Secret Service, in cooperation with and invaluable assistance of the United States Mint. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Westmoreland Rose and Craig D. Randall and the forfeiture trial is being prosecuted by AUSAs Tom Ascik and Ben Bain Creed.
Are “Honest Money” Supporters Terrorists?
by Walt Thiessen commented on this in the Nolan Chart website:
“Tompkins issued a statement after the trial that defies reason and sanity and that demonstrates beyond doubt that the U.S. government’s greatest enemy, in the government’s view, are the same people the government claims to protect and serve. Tompkins said, “Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country,” In other words, from her viewpoint, the real question of the trial wasn’t whether the Norfed coins were intended to be counterfeits of the U.S. dollar. The real question, in her view, was whether those who advocate the use of gold and silver as money should be considered patriots or terrorists. In her view, honest people who want honest money that has honest value are terrorists.”
The New York SUN has an interesting editorial on the court case and said in part:
“A unique form of domestic terrorism” is the way the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Anne M. Tompkins, is describing attempts “to undermine the legitimate currency of this country.” The Justice Department press release quotes her as saying: “While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country.” Such language strikes us as hyperbolic. It may be that the monetary authorities in America fear that their own currency will be exposed as unsound. The monetary terror for the rest of Americans is the danger that there will be a further collapse in the value of their dollars or, conversely, a deflation that will make it even harder, or impossible, to pay back their debts.
The Founders of America understood all this. No doubt they wanted a national coinage. The Constitution they wrote forbids the states from making legal tender out of anything but gold or silver coins, and it is to the Congress that the Constitution gives the power to coin money and regulate its value. But they promptly defined a dollar as 371 ¼ grains of silver, which was the same as in a coin called a Spanish Milled Dollar, or the free market equivalent in gold. The record left by the Founders is replete with expressions of horror at paper money. They required our government officials to enforce the laws Congress has passed until a court tells them otherwise. But they would have understood the instinct of a man like von NotHaus to seek protection from a debasement that the Founders feared was, in respect of paper money, inevitable.”
What a strange and hypocritical world we live in.
BBB Warns Austin-Based Coin Firms Ads May Be Peddling ‘Fool’s Gold’
Posted by Better Business Bureau on March 17, 2011 4:30 PM
Consumers nationwide should be on the alert for advertisements from two Texas-based companies that are using newspapers to sell gold bullion coins “completely free of dealer mark-up,” Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns. The companies appear to be using the ads to entice consumers to buy more expensive “collector coins” at prices significantly higher than they could be bought elsewhere.
The companies are United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve and United States Coin and Gold Reserve, both with addresses in the same office building in Austin, Texas. Colt Verret is a former sales manager for United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve and is the current president of United States Coin and Gold Reserve, which also uses the name United States Gold Coin Exchange, LP.
United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve took out a full-page ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in January and The Cincinnati Enquirer in February. United States Coin and Gold Reserve recently took out full-page ads in several additional newspapers, including the Post-Dispatch, the Belleville, Ill., News-Democrat and The Boston Globe. All of the ads have striking similarities including sections where the ad copy is identical.
Carrie A. Hurt, BBB president and CEO, says the advertisements invite consumers to call toll-free phone numbers to speak with company salesmen, called “gold advisors.”
“These seem to be typical bait-and-switch ads where the salespeople use the initial offer to convince callers to buy higher grade, so-called collector coins, at highly inflated prices,” Hurt explains. “There also is concern that these salesmen may be targeting senior citizens, some with little or no knowledge of the gold market.”
BBB is also concerned with the content of the companies’ advertising, which pictures the U.S. Capitol building and which could lead consumers to believe the companies have an affiliation with the U.S. government.
An investigator with BBB called the toll-free number listed on the Belleville advertisement and spoke with a salesman who identified himself as a senior investment advisor and senior gold advisor with United States Coin and Gold Reserve. He said that people are “fed up” with low interest rates offered by banks, and retirees are “looking for a better way to save money.” He said he works largely with retirees.
While the salesmen said he could sell some of the advertised coins, he recommended that between 85 and 90 percent of a gold investment portfolio be in what he called “congressional proof, extremely high-grade, collectible coins that tend to appreciate far better than bullion does.” He said the coins contain ¼ ounce of gold and could be purchased at a cost of $639 each, or $12,780 for a tray of 20 coins.
The price he quoted for the coins is markedly higher than the price they could be bought elsewhere, according to research conducted by an investigator with BBB. A longtime Texas-based coin dealer, Danny Hall, said his business would sell the same high-grade coins for approximately $398 each, or around $7,860 for a tray of 20 coins. A check of prices on the online site eBay shows the coins selling for between $335 and $420 each. Hall called the price being charged by the Austin coin company “inflated” at $639. He further emphasized these coins are not considered to be particularly collectible, but simply a purchase of gold.
BBB is currently working with United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve to confirm substantiation of the claims in their advertisements.
Consumer complaints received by BBB allege that they purchased coins from United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve, but the purchase amount was far more than the amount the coins were later appraised. The company generally responds by offering consumers the option to return the coins for a refund. Consumers have filed more than 40 complaints against United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve in the past 36 months.
Click here to view the current BBB Business Review on United States Rare Coin & Bullion Reserve and here to view the current BBB Business Review on United States Coin and Gold Reserve.
BBB offers the following tips to consumers looking to buy coins as investments:
· Research Gold-Buying Businesses in Advance.
Before buying anything, make sure you know the name of the company, its address and, preferably, the company’s top officials. Check out the company’s BBB Business Review at www.bbb.org for additional insight.
· Do Not Make An Immediate Decision.
Some sales representatives may push you to buy during their initial presentation, but do not buy anything until you have had an opportunity to compare their prices with prices offered by reputable coin dealers in your area, or through Internet auctions.
· Compare Prices Carefully.
When you compare prices, make sure you are comparing identical items. A vintage $5 gold coin, for instance, is usually worth more than a newer $5 gold coin. The value of coins minted the same year likely will vary depending on the condition.
About Better Business Bureau:
BBB’s mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. BBB accomplishes this mission by creating a community of trustworthy businesses, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior.
Businesses that earn BBB Accreditation contractually agree and adhere to the organization’s high standards of ethical business behavior. BBB is the preeminent resource to turn to for objective, unbiased information on businesses and charities.
Contact BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas at (512) 445-4748.
Beware of kangaroo-stamped gold bars, Toronto police warn jewellers
JILL MAHONEY and TAMARA BALUJA
Globe and Mail Update
Published Wednesday, Mar. 02, 2011 9:18AM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Mar. 02, 2011 12:55PM EST
Toronto police are warning workers in the jewellery and metal industries to be on the lookout for people trying to sell gold bars stamped with kangaroos.
Police say someone used a fraudulently obtained draft from a Toronto bank for nearly $1.9-million to buy gold bars from a Montreal financial institution last month.
The treasure included 19 one-kilogram gold bars, two 100-gram bars and 75 distinctive 10-ounce gold bars with the symbol of Australia’s Perth Mint on the front and kangaroos on the back.
So far, one of the Australian gold bars – which are about half the size of a deck of cards and valued at about $13,000 – has been recovered.
Detective Ruth Moran offered few details on the theft of the bank draft, but called the fraud sophisticated.
“It’s not easy to steal the draft and have it deposited and then buy gold bars,” she said.
Police say a man unsuccessfully tried to sell an Australian gold bar at a business in Toronto on Feb. 14. Two days later, a second man was arrested as he attempted to peddle one of the bars, Det. Moran said.
Thevarajah Thambipillai, 55, and Senthuran Kanapathipillai, 32, both of Toronto, are charged with possession of property obtained by crime. They are not charged in relation to the theft of the bank draft.
Police are uncertain how many people are involved in the fraud.
“It’s definitely a unique case and we’re doing everything possible to find out where the gold bars are and find out who else is responsible,” said Constable Tony Vella.
Investigators are warning those who work with precious metals to beware of people peddling gold bars. Aside from the Australian gold, the other bars do not have distinctive features.
“The last thing you want to do is buy items that have been stolen,” Constable Vella said.
Although police say further attempts might be made to sell the gold bars, it would be relatively difficult because businesses are required to keep track of purchases of gold valued over $10,000.
The Canadian Bankers Association is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the recovery of the bars and the conviction of the thief.
William Crate, a director of the association, said the CBA has no tolerance for crimes against the banking industry. He said this is a “unique situation” and he hasn’t seen many similar thefts.
The financial institutions are also conducting their own investigations.
Corporations, Crime and Justice, Media
Judge Freezes Assets of Former Beck Gold Advertiser
— By Stephanie Mencimer
Glenn Beck might, for once, be right: the government is coming for your gold. But only if you happened to buy it from one of Beck’s *one-time advertisers, the Superior Gold Group. At the request of prosecutors from LA County and Santa Monica city who have filed a civil suit against the company, Los Angeles County judge has ordered that Superior Gold be placed into receivership and all of its assets—bank accounts, real estate, and presumably gold stored for customers—frozen. On Monday, a court-appointed lawyer actually physically seized control of the company, presumably to prevent further wrongdoing. The lawsuit alleged that among other things, Superior had defrauded its customers by overcharging them, fraudulently inducing them to buy overpriced collectors’ coins rather than the bullion that they wanted, and taking customers’ money for coins they never produced. The prosecutors hope that the lawsuit will provide restitution for all of the company’s ripped off customers. The judge will hold a hearing later this month to decide whether the company’s assets should remain frozen until the case goes to trial.
Putting a company in receivership is a pretty drastic and very rare move for a judge in a civil case. It does not bode well for Beck’s other and much bigger gold advertiser, Goldline, which has also been accused of very similar tactics, as Mother Jones documented earlier this year. The California prosecutors are also investigating Goldline. Both companies have claimed that they were targeted solely because of liberal outrage about Beck’s political viewpoints, and touted their outstanding ratings from the Better Business Bureau in their defense. But the dramatic business seizure on Monday of Superior Gold suggests that the consumer complaints were not only legitimate, but that the situation may be worse there than any of the critics suspected. Whether Goldline is in the same boat is hard to know, but the swift takeover of Superior Gold has to be making Goldline (and Beck, too) awfully nervous.
*Clarification: It appears that Superior Gold Group has not advertised on Beck’s show since December 2009, though it has proclaimed its loyal support for the conservative talk show host. In August last year, the company issued a press release criticizing attacks on Beck’s advertisers and announcing its intention to renew its advertising contract with Fox News. The company said it would continue to support Beck’s show in the face of calls by liberal groups for advertisers to boycott the show. Three months later, the liberal group Media Matters documented that Superior Gold Group ran an ad during one of Beck’s TV segments on gold, writing:
Let it never be said that Glenn Beck fails to repay those who are loyal to him.
On his show today, Beck told his audience that they should buy gold to protect themselves in the event of a U.S. economic collapse. Minutes later, that same audience was treated to a commercial for Superior Gold Group, featuring a “gold investor and a Superior Gold client” who cited “our government spending trillions of dollars and counting” and “a debt that will burden our children and grandchildren for years to come” as reasons to buy their product. I wonder how many of Beck’s viewers called their hotline on the spot?
In something of an endorsement, Superior Gold Group posted the item on its own website as if it was written in-house.
WTHR-TV
GREENSBURG, Ind. — Ever make up for a mistake years afterward? A Greensburg man who had a coin collection stolen in high school had it unexpectedly returned by someone determined to do the right thing.
The coins came with an anonymous apology delivered decades later.
While opening a stack of mail last week, Jimmy Colson discovered a surprise with no stamp, no return address and no outward sign of significance.
“I saw an envelope folded over, and it had my name on it, Jimmy Colson, and when I opened it up, there’s a package in there, felt like something heavy in it, wrapped in cardboard. Then out rolled three coins, and without reading the note, I knew exactly what they were,” Colson said.
Colson hadn’t seen the 1923 Peace dollar, 1897 Morgan dollar and 1903 Indian Head penny in 34 years, not since he was a sophomore at Greensburg Community High School.
It was 1976 and Colson had taken his coins to school show some friends.
He left them in his locker, but by the end of the week they were gone, stolen and largely forgotten, until that unexpected envelope arrived just days before Christmas with a Post-it note inside.
“It says, ‘took it out of your locker some 30 years ago. Signed, sorry, ‘dumb kid.’ I just had this rush like — oh, my. What is going on here? It’s been 34 years! Then my mind started wandering, was it somebody who didn’t have my address before? Was it somebody sick, you know, that was wanting to make things right? When kids do things like that, they will hock them, spend them or God knows whatever, but never keep them, but this person did, and they did the right thing,” Colson said. “To this day, I have no clue who, when and why they brought them back.”
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After all these years, the coins have grown in value, but to Colson, it’s not about the money.
“It’s the note in there saying I’m sorry I took them, you know, I was the dumb kid. That is worth more than the coins are even today.”
He calls it a courageous act of conscience and a lesson in honesty and forgiveness delivered decades later to his doorstep.
“They’re forgiven,” Colson said. “I would just like to have an ending to the story, know who it is and their mindset and tell them there’s definitely no hard feelings.”
Colson said if he’s contacted by the person who regretted their high school crime, he’d give them one of the silver dollars for being so honest.
e E-Sylum: Volume 13, Number 50, December 12, 2010, Article 25
MORE ON THE RECOVERY OF JULIAN LEIDMAN’S STOLEN INVENTORY
The Star-Ledger of New Jersey reported more details about the recovery of dealer Julian Leidman’s stolen inventory. -Editor
Court papers filed in New York identify the son of a Diamond District jeweler as the man who allegedly bought a multi-million dollar collection of coins and currency stolen in October 2009 from a Maryland coin dealer’s van as he dined in a Montville restaurant.
What the papers don’t show is who the FBI believe was responsible for the theft.
A complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Daniel X. McCaffrey, Jr. details how Yan Kandinov allegedly bought the cache for $80,000 from an unidentified individual who said they had “something for him to look at.”
Kandinov then allegedly attempted to sell the coins to a New Jersey coin dealer, who in turn tipped off the FBI.
On Oct. 11, 2009, Leidman was on his way home to Silver Springs, Md., from the Coinfest show in Stamford, Conn. when he stopped at Tiffany’s Restaurant along Route 46 in Montville. As he dined with family members, thieves smashed the passenger window of his locked minivan and stole two 50-pound cases containing thousands of rare coins and currency. Leidman, the American Numismatic Association’s 2009 Dealer of the Year, believed that he had been tailed by the thieves after he left the coin show, who waited until he was eating to break into his vehicle.
Albert & Sons, a wholesaler of gold and diamonds, was bustling with customers on Nov. 15, the day Kandinov’s trial was delayed. In his office, where a portrait of Al Capone hangs in the corner, Albert Kandinov declined to comment on the pending trial of his son.
To read the complete article, see: Montville coin theft case involved Manhattan jeweler, FBI says (www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/12/
montville_coin_theft_case_invo.html)