| America's #1 Peddler of Forged Memorabilia |
Two years ago AllReaders.net received a post from a contributor regarding an internet memorabilia dealer he had worked for.
He claimed that AutographsAmerica.com was selling fake memorabilia (see list supplied to us showing items sold in 2008). aWe accepted his contribution, along with a copy of a police report he had filed with the local police where the business operates. autographsamerica.
He did indeed file a report in regards to the sales of forged items with both the police (see below), and the FBI.
Shortly thereafter we received a series of emails from autographsamerica.com regarding the contribution on our site; below you may read those emails.aut
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As you scroll through the emails from AA you will see the "Retraction" we were offered $1,000 to post by autographsamerica.com (we declined of course).
On one hand, you have the complaint written by the former employee, on the other, you have the responsive emails from the business, acknowledging that the contributor was in fact an employee, and making several accusations against him.
We can't help but notice that the very person that contributed this posting to AllReaders.net continued to notorize Certificates of Authenticity signed by aliases of AutographsAmerica.com owner Brian Burkel long after filing forgery claims with ebay and the police (see docs below).
We have recieved dozens of complaints from AA clients that have purchased albums signed by artist that were either long dead at the time of the signing, or simply could not have been at the signing with the other group members.
Its unfortunate so many people have fallen for this scam, and made Mr. Burkel a somewhat wealthy man in the process. Sadly money doesn't buy happiness, and as recently as June 2011 Brian finds himself back in a Washington Court (scroll towards bottom of page).
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| autographsamerica.com autographsamerica.com autographsamerica.com |
UPDATE!
Recently we were forwarded and old email apparently sent by Mr. Burkel to his forgerer; the email was forwarded by an employee of AA's (obviously disgruntled) to Allreaders.net. Judge for yourself:
----- Original Message ----
From: Brian Burkel
To: Christie Carrroll
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 9:36:19 AM
Subject: Guitars
Christie,
Hello!
I need you to pick out guitars in the garage for the following bands (not bass guitars)
Metallica (with Robert Trujillo, NOT Newstead, or Burton) songs, pics, etc.
AC/DC (2 guitars) Bon Scott and Brian Johnson
Rolling Stones (like the gold one) Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Ronnie Woods, and Charlie Watts
INXS
U2
Also, I need you to go to Office Depot and buy a Sony Cybershot Camera like the one we have here about 8 Megapixels, and get a 1GB card for it. We have these guitars sold for around $3,000 but if you can't take a picture of them, we can't sell them. IF you have a good one at home you can bring GREAT but if not we need to buy one.
Try to pick the guitars that best fit the bands, and use colors that show up with the camera, like WHITE
Brian
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| Letter Sent in by Contributor |
There have been many companies in the world that have produced excellent quality Forgeries and have been defrauding this world with fake autographs for years online.
Some of the online aliases and names used in connection with these scammers are;
losangelesrocks92684 (business license under this name is shown on this page - allscams editor)
backstagefun, collectors_
network, collectorsuniverseltd
backstagefun
qualityonlineautographs
autographs_america2001(business license under this name is shown on this page - allscams editor)
great_american_autographs
original_autographs_4u (business license under this name is shown on this page - allscams editor)
All of these aliases have been perpetrated thru the same person which currently owns and operates a business called Autographs America located in Maple Valley Wa with the web server and design company out of China.
This company has been selling fake/forged autographs seen on Guitars, Pick Guards, Albums, Laser Discs, Movie Posters, Drum Heads and other Music related items under many aliases over the last 10 years to unsuspecting customers on e-bay and other memorabilia websites.
The people that purchase these fakes are reputable people like Casinos, autograph dealers, collectors and re-sellers. This creates a great problem in our country and abroad since there have been thousands of fake/forged autographed items sold over the years and re-sold with fake certificates of authenticity.
There have been thousands of these forged items introduced into our economy and the public for over 10 years by these scam artists. The one company that stands out the most is none other than Autographs America which currently is making approx. $10,000 dollars daily.
These people need to be held accountable for their actions. These same people use some of the best Artists/Forgers in their game of trickery, the C.O.A's that this company and others are using are fake, also the authentication companies do not exist if you research them.
Buyers Beware, there are countless Musical items as well as Movie Items out there and the only real thing about these items is the fact the seller of these items is getting rich and they claim if you cannot prove that the item is fake, tough luck to get your money back. Unfortunately all anybody can say is that to the best of their knowledge the autograph is fake but since this is only an opinion because they were not present at the time of signing it is difficult to prove.
Autographs America is owned by Brian Burkel who resides in Maple Valley WA. Also residing at this address is Brian's New Wife and business partner, Wu Xin Burkel who was a Customs Officer in Guangzhou China for the last 10 Years and now helps Brian with all the illegal activities from China to the United States.
These two have set up shops in China as well as his residence in Maple Valley and is continuing to scam innocent people to believe that the autographed items he is selling are real. Brian's new website is http://www.autographsamerica.com since he no longer works with e-bay after they closed down his shady operations not being able to prove that his autographs were real.
Back in 2002 Brian first started having celebrity photos autographs forged by an Artist and he would have these listed on ebay. The scam turned into albums, drum heads and guitars and he has been running this scam ever since and has been living the good life with having new cars 3 homes, house keepers, gardeners etc. After e-bay shut this person down he fled to China where he revamped his operation and married his new wife.
Brian returned from China in September of 2007 after a Rock Concert he tried to promote FAILED from which he scammed over 2000 people in believing that the show was going to include great acts. Him being in China had nothing to do with skipping out with the money. He was in China visiting his new mail order bride above.
This trip was his second visit. Brian also has a harassment case filed against him from an employee who worked at the Ravensdale, Wa. post office where Brian would ship the forged goods to ebay auction winners who were told they were purchasing authentic autographed items. Brian and one of his employees were having an affair and she called it off.
This made Brian angry so he had one more meeting with her at a hotel and filmed them having sex. He then left her in the room and called her while he was on his way to her home to show the video to her husband. Threatening her to leave him or he would show the film...This guy is not right in the head.
This is how Brian's ebay auction scam worked... and still works the same way with autographs america.
Brian would go to local retailers or anywhere in the country and purchase used albums and memorabilia from used record stores. He would do this about once per week.
He would then take them to one of his houses, this house was rented by Brian. Then the forger would come to this rented house twice weekly and forge the artists autographs. Brian paid this person very well, cash daily, and more when Brian paid late. After the albums were signed they were then taken to another home.
Here they were photographed and got ready to be listed on ebay. Listing on ebay was always done on Thursdays. When the auctions were closed, the sold items were then taken to Brian's second home where they were packed up and ready to be taken to the post office in Ravensdale Wa. All employees were paid cash daily. Brian pretty much did all the foot work.
There are no accounts under Brian's name or his new wife, he makes sure his name won't come up since he has a Felony conviction for cocaine dealing and distribution which he spent 11 years in prison.
Buyers BEWARE they have re-surfaced. There is now one main site he is operating from and a few other small ebay sites the big one is his own website that he had built for him in China with his new wife Wu Xin. It is called Autographs America at http://www.autographsamerica.com and it is a well put together site with hundreds of forged items.
The way it works is simple, over the last 10 years Brian has gone to every concert that came to town taking proof photos of the artists signing items that he would bring with him to the concerts, well he still has these originals posted up all over his house but he hires a very talented artist to come in and forge these signatures on duplicate items that he photographs, photoshops and then lists them for sale including autographs such as Elvis and the Beatles and makes approx. $100,000.00 per month ripping people off.
Now the story is pretty much the same except that there are different players since the fiasco with the concert and his operation was shut down by e-bay. Brian now imports all his Guitars from Chinaand has these guitars signed by his Artist/Forger to be a duplicate of an already real signed Guitar, then posts them on his new website that is no longer associated with e-bay. Now just remember that all the proof pictures are real but the Certificate of Authenticity and the Autographs are a definite fake.
21643 SE 265TH WAY MAPLE VALLEY, WA 98038
Join Import Genius: to search millions of import - export records
Recent BRIAN N BURKEL Shipments
OCEAN BILL OF LADING
ImportGenius
BILL OF LADING
COPY
NON-NEGOTIABLE
BILL OF LADING NO.
OSTIQDSEAS850087
SHIPPER
WEIFANG HONGYUN MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
CO., LTD. GAOYA TOWN, CHANGLE COUNTY SHANDONG CHINA
CONSIGNEE
BRIAN N BURKEL.
21643 SE 265TH WAY MAPLE VALLEY, WA 98038
NOTIFY PARTY
BRIAN N BURKEL
21643 SE 265TH WAY MAPLE VALLEY, WA 98038
VOYAGE NO.
00167
ARRIVAL DATE
2008-06-11
PORT OF LOADING
Ching Tao
PORT OF DISCHARGE
Seattle, Washington
CONTAINER NO.
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QTY.
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DECLARATION OF GOODS (2)
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CARGO WEIGHT
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DIMENSIONS
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NYKU8216525
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169 CTN
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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: ELECTRIC GUITARS
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4575 KG
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Another way Brian gets his autographs and proof pictures is this: since being in the autograph business over the years and since making so much money he has made a lot of unsuspecting friends in the Rock and Roll world having front row tickets and backstage passes to all the concerts and events. Some of these people are actual musicians, radio disk jockeys, concert promoters and management companies.
What he does is simple, he will make arrangements with these unsuspecting business professionals and set up a Signing when specific bands are being interviewed and at before and after show parties, he usually brings 6 to 10 items with him, after the signing and proof pictures are taken he will give these business professionals one of each of these items being signed then takes the remainder and brings them home for the next stage.
At this point he will take a Record, Guitar or whatever else was signed and have his artist duplicate the autographs on an identical item and then puts them up for sale on his website.
If you pay close attention to detail on any of the items for sale you should notice that most items are signed by everyone in the band or show and all the autographs if looked at closely will be from the same hand stroke.
Trying to get even one autograph is tough enough for most people but if you look at his website every item is signed by everyone, even those people that are no longer alive and there are thousands of items for sale.
So, just remember the proof photos that are offered is proof of the original item being signed and not the items for sale which is an exact duplicate. Industry professionals are being scammed out of millions of dollars by this since they are receiving no compensation from these fraudulent artifacts nor are the artists themselves.
Thank you
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| Emails Received From AutographsAmerica.com Regarding Post |
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| Click to Open |
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Open the PDF doc on the right to read letter from attorney representing AutographsAmerica.com.
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| Complaints Filed Against Burkel by Associate/Employee |
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| Third Party Contribution |
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| Quality Online Autographs, Inc. |
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| Third Party Contribution |
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| No Business License can be located for this Co. in WA. archives |
I've been asked by many visitors for my opinion on this particular company, and their autograph collection.
I tell them all the same thing, I'm no expert on the subject. I will however say this; I have looked through the site and the hundreds of albums, soundtracks, and guitars displayed, and I have noticed some curiosities.
If you look below, you will see a few pieces I pulled from the site, and though they span two decades in time, they seem to share signatures made with incredibly similar writing instruments.
I repeatedly see the same gold, sky blue, and ocean blue colors that at least in jpg. format, appear to be a liquid gel pen, or paint pen.
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| Michael Creel AllReaders.net Editor |
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Also, scroll down a bit and you will see items submitted by a visitor, as well as some very interesting developments with the Notory Public of autograpsamerica.com Sky Benson.
We have police reports he has filed against the company, and emails to us claiming forgery and aliases being used.
So please, take the time to look at the signatures and contributions yourself, and let me know what you think. You can always place comments on our message board, but if they're vulgar, they will vanish quickly.
Recently I have had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Cyrkin, an actual expert in the field of celebrity autographs and Publisher of Autograph Magazine. It's no secret that autographsamerica.com has been suspected of flooding the market with forgeries for quite some time. autoautographsamerica.comgraphsamerica.com
I recommend that anyone interested in collecting autographs visit: autographmagazine.com and read Steve Cyrkins numerous articles regarding autograph collecting..com
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| Take a look at these autographs and see what you think |
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| STAR WARS - 1977 |
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| TOP GUN - 1986 |
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| ROCKY - 1976 |
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| TOOTSIE - 1982 |
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| SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - 1977 |
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| REDS - 1981 |
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| URBAN COWBOY - 1980 |
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| RISKY BUSINESS - 1983 |
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| STAND BY ME - 1986 |
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| LA BAMBA - 1987 |
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| THE LONG RIDERS - 1980 |
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| THE FALCON & THE SNOWMAN - 1985 |
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| CABARET - 1972 |
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| E.T. - 1982 |
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| COCKTAILS - 1988 |
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| THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - 1985 |
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| THE BLUES BROTHERS - 1980 |
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| TEMPLE OF DOOM - 1984 |
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| THE GODFATHER - 1972 |
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| MARIE - 1985 |
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| PINK FLOYD - ANIMALS 1977 |
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If you find those autographs interesting, you may want to click on the magnifying glass to see the albums I looked at.
Seems these pens have really gotten around in the entertainment world!
Keep in mind, Gel pens weren't even invented until 1984 by the Sakura Color Products Corp.
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| Show Me More |
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| Third Party Contribution |
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| Photo of Item In Question |
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| Letters of "Authentication" Notorized by Sky Benson |
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| 3rd Party Contribution |
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"I purchased a signed Van Halen guitar off Ebay in 2008 and after paying for the item Ebay alerted me that the item may be fake.
I immediately put a stop to the payment and I tracked the company down who provided the Certificate Of Authenticity (copy attached) that came with the guitar. The company was Autographs America that operates out of Ravensdale.
Their website is http://www.autographsamerica.com/ . I contacted them with regards to the guitar and asked if they could shed light on the authenticity, etc. I emailed back and forth with a person named Brian Burns. Brian insisted thathe obtained the autographs in person in 1983 and sent me a scan of a concert ticket stub.
I asked him to please get a statutory declaration of his story signed by a public notary and that way if I ever sold the guitar, the person would not have to go through what I went through with regards to authenticity.
I received a promisary note with regards to the guitar and Brian Burns signature was witnessed by a Sky Benson." - context of email sent to allreaders.net by AA patron
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| PAAS Opinion of Van Halen Guitar |
Van Halen signed Guitar: Not likely to be genuine
Our authenticators believe that the item, if physically submitted to P.A.A.S. for examination, would likely not receive our certificate of authenticity.
Thank you for trust in P.A.A.S.
Thank you,
Michael Frost
For more information on P.A.A.S. Authentication Services please see www.paasautographs.com or call (954) 450-4283.
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| PSA Appraisal of Guitar "Likely Not Genuine" |
From: Shane [mailto:shane@ozemail.com.au]
Sent: Saturday, 13 June 2009 7:10 AM
To: 'AllReaders. Net'
Subject: FW: Quick Opinion Request was "Likely Not Genuine"
Hi Michael,
I contacted PSA for an appraisal of the guitar. Paid them for it. I had to list the item on Ebay first before they would have a look at it.
Response below. Guess that says it all!!
Item is fake!!
-----------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: quickopinion@collectors.com [mailto:quickopinion@collectors.com]
Sent: Saturday, 13 June 2009 2:27 AM
To: shane@ozemail.com.au
Subject: Quick Opinion Request was "Likely Not Genuine"
Dear Shane Warren,
Your Request for Item "Van Halen Signed Guitar. Signed by David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anth", eBay Lot No. "230348785630", opinion was rendered at "6/12/2009 9:29:08 AM" and the result was:
Response: "Likely Not Genuine"
Request ID: 61983
Request By: 06/13/2009
Thank you choosing the QuickOpinion service!
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From: Shane
Sent: 06/14/09 07:28 am
To: 'AllReaders. Net'
Subject: FW: Quick Opinion Request was "Likely Not Genuine" further to my email below - Ebay actually removed my listing:
Dear fugosh,
We're sorry to tell you the following listing was removed on the advice of a third-party autograph authentication company:
230348785630 - Van Halen Signed Guitar by original four.
Using known authentic exemplars, the authentication company informed us that the signature is most likely "not genuine."
As you may know, eBay has a policy in place to address concerns from the eBay community about the potential sale of forged autographs. As part of this policy, we work with several independent autograph authentication companies.
These companies provide services to educate buyers and sellers about autographs and to also identify autographs that may be inconsistent with known exemplars from particular sports or entertainment celebrities.
Please understand that this online evaluation is not an actual determination that this signature is forged, nor does it suggest that you did anything wrong. However, because of the inconsistencies identified by the authenticator, the decision was made to remove the listing and refund all fees associated with it.
We know you may be disappointed with this decision and that the item you have listed may have been represented accurately. However, we believe all eBay buyers and sellers benefit from a program that has independent online evaluations of autographed items.
Learn more about eBay's Autographed Items policy here:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/autographs.html
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
eBay Trust & Safety team
H48078
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The document and emails above were contributed by "Shane" a patron of autographsamerica.com as an example of the "authentication" offered him by the company, and independant authenticators opinions.
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| Click Image to see all of Burkels Licenses |
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It's interesting that the Promisory Note is signed by "Brian Burns" as the primary owner of the company, when in fact Brian Burkel holds that title. It's equally interesting that the document is notorized by Sky Benson, the very person that has claimed to Federal and State law inforcement that autographsamerica.com sells forgeries.
Other companies mentioned as scamming people on EBay are Los Angeles Rocks, and Original Autographs; which are also Brian Burkel companies (see records above).
According to the email (below) we received from Sky Benson (autographsamerica.com Notary), Brian Burns and Michael Rigore are merely aliases used by Brian Burns.
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| AutographsAmerica.com's Notary Comes Clean! |
From: skyb@comcast.net
Subject: Re: RE:
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:59:15 -0800
To: mcreel@hotmail.com
"$35,000 I owe to Burkell...Bullshit! If anything, he owes me over 20k for the work I did for him and the all the bad checks as well as Credit card charge-backs he left me with from his failed Rock Concert (police report #07-037592).
I cannot believe what he is saying... as far as I am concerned now I should look into a slander and defamation of character lawsuit." - Sky Benson
_______________________________
"I sent off a complaint against Brian using the IC3 online" - Sky Benson
[IC3 is the FBI's online complaint center for reporting cyber fraud - AllReaders.net]
(email on file)
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| Sky Benson -AutographsAmerica Notary Public |
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From: Sky Benson
Sent: Saturday, May 23, 2009 7:14:15 PM
Subject: Re: Burkel
"All his guitars he buys from china. Unless he finds an old one online. Michael Rigore and Brian Burns are Brian Burkel's aliases" - Sky Benson
(email on file)
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| It appears that Mr. Benson was still Notorizing docs for Burkel/Burns 13 months after filing a police report regarding Forgery! |
| P.A.A.S. SAYS THIS IS 100% FRAUD |
This company Autograph America is a complete fraud and is claiming that P.A.A.S. - Professional Autograph Authentication Services. www.paasautographs.com has authenticated one of their items as authentic.
P.A.A.S. has personally examined over 25 signed items sold by Autograph America. Every item examined was found to be not authentic. I am willing to pay a reward of $500 for an Autographs America item that has been authenticated with a Letter of Authenticity from P.A.A.S.
Please beware of Autographs America owned by Brian Burkel who resides in Maple Valley WA
Michael Frost
P.A.A.S.
www.paasautographs.com
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| Ad Placed on Craigslist.com by AutographsAmerica.com |
| Example of the 100% Guarantee! |
From: Autographs America [mailto:autographsamerica@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, 5 June 2009 1:11 AM
To: shane@ozemail.com.au
Subject: Please do NOT contact us again EVER!
Dear Shane,
Once again, you keep wasting our time. You know absolutely nothing about anything.
Sky Benson owed money to eBay, so he tried to get out of paying them by making up lies, i.e., to blame someone else for his bills. He called the police so he could give the report to eBay and try to get out of paying the money he owed. The police saw right through his lies, and he was forced to pay the money he owed.
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| Brian Burkel AKA: Michael Rigore AKA: Brian Burns |
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| Funny, over 5-6 years of doing business on eBay to suddenly say he knew nothing about his name being used on the accounts. These were lies to cover his debts. Nothing more. Stop wasting people's time. You, like Sky, will be a liar, because you, like him, make up stories to cover a story you like. You are wrong about everything, and need to get a life!
You really need to start using your head for something, other than your own imaginations. You, AGAIN, have bought an authentic item, and you should be happy with it. Get on with your life!
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| BURKEL RESPONDS TO DISTRICT ATTORNEY COMPLAINT REGARDING GUITAR ABOVE |
| Denies Ever Having Authenticated It! |
From: Autographs America [mailto:autographsamerica@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:37 AM
To: ATG MI Tacoma CRC
Subject: 342707 : A notice from the Washington State Attorney General's Office
Dear Cynthia,
This person never purchased anything from us. Please note that we represent over 300 different collectors and this item may have come from one of them, but it was definitely not from us.
Ask this person to show you a Certificate of Authenticity from us for the item he has in his possession, and you will find out it was NOT from us. Since he bought it on eBay he should contact them to ask the name of the seller so he will know who to contact.
This person has been harassing us, and other organizations about this issue, and we will hot waste our time on something that is not our problem. He's posted lies on this allreaders.net <http://allreaders.net> web site, and we will be pursuing legal actions against him. He's made a mistake, and he won't admit it, and has been trying to make a federal case out of it.
Please note that any authenticators opinion is only that, and is meaningless in the real world. It is probably authentic, and this guy should be happy to own such an item. He should research the band's autographs and decide himslef, not let a biased company with few exemplars to decide this matter.
Best regards,
Michael Rigore (AKA: Brian Burkel)
Autographs America
Customer Service
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| EXPERT OFFERS AID TO VICTIMS |
P.A.A.S. fee is $40 per signature for full authentication service plus $15 shipping and handling for the items return with your P.A.A.S. hand signed state of the art numbered Certificate of Authenticity with matching numbered hologram.
P.A.A.S. will only charge you $25 per item to authenticate in this matter and will forward all our findings directly to the F.B.I. We must examine the items and make sure they are forgeries before any action can be taken.
Please also send us all receipt and invoice from AutographsAmerica.com
Please send item to be authenticated to P.A.A.S.
C/O Michael Frost
11435 Lakeshore Drive
Cooper City, Florida 33026
Please send via US Post Office --Priority Certified mail and your item will be covered up to $10,000 per package with PAAS insurance policy... You may add additional insurance if you like. Our turn around time is at 6 - 8 days right now.
Thank You,
Michael Frost
PAAS President
www.paasautographs.com
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| Forgery Complaint Filed by Notary Public |
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| Third Party Contribution |
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| Third Party Contribution |
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| Third Party Contribution |
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| Rock Festival Mentioned in Emails |
Rock fest organizer facing felony charge
The man behind the failed Darrington event allegedly wrote a bad check for $36,000.
By Kaitlin Manry
Herald Writer
DARRINGTON -- A man who left for China after his rock festival tanked in 2006 may soon have to face the music.
Brian Burkel, the ex-convict who planned the Darrington Rock Festival and allegedly didn't pay dozens of workers and bands -- including classic rock acts Cheap Trick, Mark Farner and Randy Bachman -- could face a felony charge for allegedly writing a $36,000 bad check, Snohomish County Sheriff's Detective Tommy Koziol said.
Koziol has forwarded the results of his investigation to the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors will decide whether there is evidence to charge Burkel.
Because they weren't paid, Cheap Trick, Farner and Bachman didn't play, angering fans.
"I'd rather not comment," said Burkel, who makes a living selling autographs on the Internet. "I'm tired of thinking about it, reading about it, hearing about it. I think everything I had to say I told you last time, which is just that it was a failed business."
Burkel blames the concert disaster on thieving colleagues whom he accuses of breaking into his trailer, stealing his checkbook and writing checks he couldn't cover.
The sheriff's office concluded that Burkel wrote a bum check for $36,000 owed to his marketing manager, Bob Conrad of Knightime Direction in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Detectives looked into other bad checks Burkel allegedly wrote. Investigators had trouble getting in contact with the check recipients and because of that decided against recommend additional charges, Koziol said.
Some of the issues regarding the concert, such as ticket-holders feeling cheated after the headline bands didn't play, are better handled in a civil lawsuit than a criminal investigation, Koziol said.
"Unfortunately, a large majority of what happened is a civil issue," he said. "My whole thing came down to one check with Conrad. Out of all the people I spoke with, that was all it came down to."
The investigation was stalled for months because detectives couldn't find Burkel, Koziol said.
A few days after the August 2006 concert, Burkel, 50 at the time, moved to Guangzhou, China, where he said he was living with his bride, who he called "an angel from China." Burkel recently moved back to Maple Valley. He hung up on a reporter before he could be asked about his marital status.
If convicted with unlawful issuance of bank checks -- a Class C felony -- Burkel could face jail time or fines.
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Bands decide not to perform when rock festival runs out of cash
By Diane Wright
Times Snohomish County Bureau
Headliner Cheap Trick and other national acts walked out of the Darrington Rock Festival last weekend after the promoter was unable to pay them their full fee.
Cheap Trick, Savoy Brown, Mark Farner and Randy Bachman were unable to perform because "there was no money," said Tom Anderson, the booking agent for the three-day festival. The festival was left with local bands performing more than one day to fill in. Bands who performed Saturday were paid in cash or with cashier's checks, said Justin Perron, who managed the festival's production.
It was unclear how local bands that played Friday and Sunday were paid.” All the nationals canceled due to nonpayment of Cheap Trick," said Ed Shaw, a Seattle-based booking agent who represents Problem Child, a regional AC/DC tribute band and other acts.
Festival promoter Brian Burkel said there will be no ticket refunds to the people who paid $75 to $85 per day to see the festival.” The event went through to completion," he said. "The Web site was very clear; all bands are subject to cancellation.” Cheap Trick was set up and ready to perform at 10 p.m. Friday, according to Perron.
But when the band learned that Burkel could not give them full payment, they said they would not go on stage, said Perron.
Half of the band's fee had been paid in advance, Anderson said. Negotiations went on to try to see if a portion of their fee was available, and the band even tried to negotiate the fee to be able to perform. "They agreed to go on for $10,000 less, but the promoter left the grounds. There was no more money, and they weren't going to be paid anything, other than the deposit," said Anderson.
Organizers said many people were supportive, even digging into their own pockets to try to help pay the bands, and there were "boos" when the cancellation announcements were made, but no beer bottles flew, said Perron.
A similar situation happened to Mark Farner, former leader of Grand Funk Railroad, whose band flew from Binghamton, N.Y., to perform Sunday.” We were sitting there ready to go, with all our equipment," said Farner. "We really wanted to play this gig, but when it came down to it, my agent said, 'Mark, if you do this, you're setting a precedent.
He obligated himself to the contract. I was so disappointed. Burkel, the festival promoter, said he invested $300,000 of his own money in this year's festival, including advertising and securing the bands, who traditionally get 50 percent of their fee when they sign a contract and the other 50 percent when they perform.
The entertainment budget was $200,000, and Burkel paid half up front, said Anderson. Saturday's show went on as planned. Anderson estimated about 3,000 attended that day, the largest crowd of the festival.
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| Brian Burkel's Court Cases |
In an effort to see who exactly Brian Burkel is, we searched the online court archives in Washington State to check and see if he had previous legal issues other than the rock festival mentioned in the emails and articles.
We were a bit suprised to find 43 cases on file. Obviously we have no way of knowing if each and every one of these cases is the same Brian Burkel, so you should certainly look into that on your own. One things clear though, both Brian Burkel and Julian Cauvin (mortgage scammer) have been previously arrested for beating a pregnant girlfriend. I guess birds of a feather, fly together.
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| "Punching Her in the Face and Abdomen While 3 Months Pregnant"! |
 |
| Third Party Contribition |
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|
| Burkel Back in Court ! June 2011 Court Case |
Court: King Co Superior Ct
Case Number: 11-2-11552-6
| Sub |
Docket Date |
Docket Code |
Docket Description |
Misc Info |
| 1 |
03-28-2011 |
PET ORD FOR PROTECTION |
Pet Ord For Protection |
|
| 2 |
03-28-2011 |
CASE INFORMATION COVER SHEET
LOCK |
Case Information Cover Sheet
Original Location - Kent |
|
| 3 |
03-28-2011 |
TEMP ORD FOR PROTECTION
EXP0004 |
Temp Ord For Prot Order/nthg -issd
Ex-parte, Dept - Kent |
04-11-2011MF |
| 4 |
04-11-2011 |
MOTION HEARING
FAM0002 |
Motion Hearing
Family Law - Kent |
|
| 5 |
04-11-2011 |
ORD FOR PROTECTION
FAM0002 |
Ord For Protection/issd
Family Law - Kent |
|
| 6 |
04-11-2011 |
RETURN OF SERVICE |
Return Of Service |
|
| 7 |
04-11-2011 |
ORDER FOR EXPERT SERVICES |
Order For Expert Services |
|
| 8 |
04-26-2011 |
SHERIFF'S RETURN OF SERVICE |
Sheriff's Return Of Service |
|
| 9 |
06-14-2011 |
APPLICATION |
Application Terminate Protective Or |
|
| 10 |
06-14-2011 |
ORD MOD/TRM TERMS OF PROT ORD
EXP0004 |
Order Modifying Protective Ord/issd
Ex-parte, Dept - Kent |
|
| 11 |
06-20-2011 |
SHERIFF'S RETURN OF SERVICE |
Sheriff's Return Of Service |
|
| 46 Washington State Court Records |
| Name |
Court |
Case Number |
Judgment Record |
Court Information |
| 1 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
89-2-02015-7 |
|
01-30-1989 |
| 2 |
Burkel, Brian
Plaintiff |
King Co Superior Ct |
09-2-28623-0 |
|
07-31-2009 |
| 3 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
King County District |
94-001907 |
07-06-2009 |
| 4 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
82-2-17922-1 |
Available |
12-28-1982 |
| 5 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
85-2-00305-5 |
Available |
01-08-1985 |
| 6 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
88-2-05906-3 |
Available |
03-30-1988 |
| 7 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
86-050770 |
07-24-1986 |
| 8 |
Burkel, Brian
Plaintiff |
King Co Superior Ct |
09-2-23669-1 |
|
06-23-2009 |
| 9 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
4281710 |
03-18-1985 |
| 10 |
Burkel, Brian
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
H00022516 |
12-05-1984 |
| 11 |
Burkel, Brian 22868 Pacific Hwy
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
86-000344 |
09-09-1986 |
| 12 |
Burkel, Brian N
Respondent |
King Co Superior Ct |
91-3-08913-6 |
|
10-16-1991 |
| 13 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
86-2-22020-8 |
Available |
09-30-1986 |
| 14 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
Pierce Co Superior |
84-2-00623-0 |
Available |
02-02-1984 |
| 15 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
86-2-22942-6 |
|
10-16-1986 |
| 16 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
08-2-29058-1 |
|
08-26-2008 |
| 17 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
87-1-01773-3 |
|
04-24-1987 |
| 18 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (auk) |
Y00200998 |
04-24-2002 |
| 19 |
Burkel, Brian N
Petitioner |
King Co Superior Ct |
05-3-06799-7 |
|
09-22-2005 |
| 20 |
Burkel, Brian N
Respondent |
King Co Superior Ct |
06-2-08879-4 |
|
03-23-2006 |
| 21 |
Burkel, Brian N
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
07-2-03614-8 |
|
01-25-2007 |
| 22 |
Burkel, Brian N & Jane Doe Dba
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
86-051157 |
10-30-1986 |
| 23 |
Burkel, Brian N & Jane Doe Dba
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
87-050459 |
04-29-1987 |
| 24 |
Burkel, Brian N & Jane Doe Dba
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
86-051347 |
12-23-1986 |
| 25 |
Burkel, Brian N Aka
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
85-050510 |
06-18-1985 |
| 26 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Pierce Co Superior |
06-2-07668-6 |
Available |
05-10-2006 |
| 27 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
IT0086622 |
02-22-2010 |
| 28 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Kcdc-west Div (sdc) |
103062 |
12-11-1996 |
| 29 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Kcdc-so Div (swd) |
H00041687 |
03-25-1985 |
| 30 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
I05805012 |
08-04-2009 |
| 31 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Kcdc-east Div (ned) |
Y3175611A |
10-23-2003 |
| 32 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
9Y6097371 |
05-28-2009 |
| 33 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Kcdc-west Div (sdc) |
960054445 |
12-09-1996 |
| 34 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King Co Superior Ct |
83-1-03394-9 |
|
11-28-1983 |
| 35 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Enumclaw Municipal |
IT0062051 |
03-17-2008 |
| 36 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
Y80130777 |
06-10-2008 |
| 37 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Enumclaw Municipal |
37372MV |
08-22-2008 |
| 38 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
IT0137682 |
09-28-2010 |
| 39 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
411065060 |
03-28-2011 |
| 40 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
411065060 |
03-28-2011 |
| 41 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Enumclaw Municipal |
IT0091431 |
03-03-2009 |
| 42 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
DEFENDANT |
Snohomish Superior |
08-1-00695-1 |
|
03-12-2008 |
| 43 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Seattle Municipal Ct |
339275 |
08-11-1998 |
| 44 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
Kcdc-east Div (ned) |
Y3175611A |
06-30-2003 |
| 45 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
RESPONDENT |
King Co Superior Ct |
11-2-11552-6 |
|
03-28-2011 |
| 46 |
Burkel, Brian Neil
Defendant |
King County District |
I06401518 |
06-06-2011 |
|
|
About Lists of Names
|
|
|
| Burkel Pleads for Restraining Order in June 2009 |
Superior Court Case Summary
Court: King Co Superior Ct
Case Number: 09-2-23669-1
| Sub |
Docket Date |
Docket Code |
Docket Description |
Misc Info |
| 1 |
06-23-2009 |
SMCMP |
Summons & Complaint |
|
| 2 |
06-23-2009 |
*ORSCS
JDG0004 |
Set Case Schedule
Judge Mary E. Roberts Dept 4 |
12-13-2010ST |
| 3 |
06-23-2009 |
CICS
LOCK |
Case Information Cover Sheet
Original Location - Kent |
|
| 4 |
06-23-2009 |
RSTOSC
EXP0004 |
Restraining Ord & Ord To Show Cause
Ex-parte, Dept - Kent |
06-29-2009 |
| 5 |
06-23-2009 |
DCLR |
Declaration Of Aric Bomsztyk |
|
| 6 |
06-23-2009 |
MT |
Motion For Temporary Restraining Or |
|
| 7 |
06-23-2009 |
DCLR |
Declaration Of Brian Burkel |
|
| 8 |
06-25-2009 |
NTAPR |
Notice Of Appearance /def |
|
| 9 |
06-26-2009 |
CRRSP |
Correspondence |
|
|
| "Every single person that has questioned anything about us comes from reading your slime" -AutographsAmerica.com |
| Kidnaper Cauvin Doesn't Agree With What Burkel Does! |
From: Jay <newlending@gmail.com>
To: creel@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:48:50 AM
Subject: RE: Tit for Tat???
"Why did you put Autographs America online? Brian, although I don’t agree with his business, has done no wrong to you." - Yves Julian Cauvin
(Email on file)
|
So there you have it; it’s true, we are not experts in the autograph field, and have never made such claims. We do however contend there is no civil liability in posting third party contributions, as many sites do.
We are not claiming AutographsAmerica to be frauds, or sell fakes; nor are we claiming their items to be legitimate or real.
We are certain that AllReaders.net is not a primary source of information or opinions for those seeking to gain knowledge regarding this company. As anyone searching Google will find, there are dozens and dozens of sites that mention autographsamerica.com. and it's owner Brian Burkel.
Now it’s up to the consumer to make an informed decision.
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Anyone that does suspect they have been a victim of internet and/or mail fraud, should certainly take the time to file a complaint.
The links will assist forgery victims:
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