State suing coin dealer amid crackdown
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/06/29/daily24.html
State suing coin dealer amid crackdown
Business First of Columbus
by Matt Burns
Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is suing a Long
Island, N.Y., state coin dealer as part of a
multistate crackdown on alleged consumer fraud.
Cordray said Wednesday that his office has filed suit
in Hancock County Common Pleas Court against
Amityville-based Alliance Coin Inc. and its president,
Barry Rothman. The state alleges Alliance violated
Ohio consumer protection law, and it wants to levy
financial penalties and hold the company responsible
for reimbursing consumers.
Cordray's office said the dealer of rare coins
allegedly has used high-pressure sales tactics over
the phone and is targeting senior citizens in its
business pitches. Cordray claims the company has
misrepresented the value and investment grade of
the coins in its business dealings and operated
without registering in the state as a telephone
solicitor.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Rothman declined to
comment on the lawsuit.
Kim Kowalski, a spokeswoman for Cordray's office,
said the state's investigation began after it
received a complaint from an 82-year-old Hancock
County resident who allegedly spent more than
$25,000 on Alliance coins to later discover they
were worth much less. Alliance claims to offer a
15-day refund window, but that might not be
enough time for consumers to discover any gaps in
value, the Attorney General's Office said.
The Hancock County complaint is the only one filed
with the state, but Kowalski said the office is
aware of other allegations made by Ohio consumers.
The lawsuit is part of a national sweep dubbed
Operation Short Change that targets companies
accused of exploiting consumers amid the
recession. Ohio is one of 14 states that have
filed suits, while the Federal Trade Commission
has mounted 15 cases and the Department of Justice
is pursuing 42.
..
Frank Provasek
and founders Laura Sperber, Steve Ivy, John Albanese (among others)
have been effective in making life a lot harder for the boiler-room
operators who prey on the elderly.
PC
"Frank Provasek" <fr...@frankcoins.com> wrote in message
news:9349f456-7a80-4540...@d4g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
A nice idea in principle but it sounds like a large can of worms.
Policing grading agencies? Maybe NGC should be investiaged because they are
not as strict as PCGS.
At what percentage over "market value" (however that is determined) do we
consider a buyer as being taken?
Peter
In many businesses offering an item that is not as advertised risks
the customer returning it expecting a refund. Some coin grading
questions are just a matter of opinion, but I've certainly seen cases
that are not. Some are clear enough that the idea seems reasonable.
Mr. Jaggers
We can all cite, and I have often cited, cases that we individually consider
to be egregious, but where, exactly, is the cutoff point between "matter of
opinion" and "clear enough that the idea seems reasonable"? Warning:
giving so much as the tiniest hint of opinion in your answer to that
question muddies, not clarifies, the water. 8>)
James the Conflicted
Bob F.
"Frank Provasek" <fr...@frankcoins.com> wrote in message
news:9349f456-7a80-4540...@d4g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
Speaking from experience, Fwankie?
oly
Actually, it is amusing (and sadd) how the second poster in this
thread tries to associate himself with several big-time & well-
capitalized "names" in the high-end portion of the numismatic
industry.
oly
Bob F.
"oly" <oly...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:5dc846d6-d824-4346...@y7g2000yqa.googlegroups.com...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He frequently does so.
I doubt anybody believes there is an association however.
I DID notice that the "full time" dealer currently has no auctions on
fleabay.
Frank Provasek
>
> Actually, it is amusing (and sadd) how the second poster in this
> thread tries to associate himself with several big-time & well-
> capitalized "names" in the high-end portion of the numismatic
> industry.
>
> oly
I was associating the Numismatic Consumer Alliance with those
dealers, not myself.
I am, however, longtime friends with Steve Ivy. Both of us were bid
board members at the Fred Causey coin
shop in Fort Worth.
oly
Whoa squire, say no more!!! Say no more!!! I used to attend local
coin club meetings with Marc Chrans, so I know all about these brushes
with greatness.
oly
coinsusa
> "oly" <oly2...@aol.com> wrote in message
>
> Actually, it is amusing (and sadd) how the second poster in this
> thread tries to associate himself with several big-time & well-
> capitalized "names" in the high-end portion of the numismatic
> industry.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> He frequently does so.
> I doubt anybody believes there is an association however.
> I DID notice that the "full time" dealer currently has no auctions on
> fleabay.
Two things here.
1 you call it "fleabay" - a derogatory euphemism for an auction site
which you seem to want to believe holds some special status for thoes
that sell there. Alas, many do not sell on E-bay, and it has nothing
to do with anything.. except in your twisted little mind.
2. You still have nothing to add of any substance to the newsgroup.
Nothing positive, nothing of value. (simplification for thoes that
still don't get it.... your comments have no purpose or meaning and
acomplish nothing of any value.)
oly
Of course RF's posts have value!!! RF is a consistent, excellent foil
to those lower-tier coin dealers who would overstate the quality of
their wares and who would also exaggerate their "professional"
qualifications on this RCC forum.
RF also likes to stick a burr under the butts of certain prancing
intellectual pansies who frequent this forum. This is amusing [even
when he does it to me].
I would also suggest that it is one particular lower-tier dealer who
exaggerates the importance of e-bay here, not RF. That dealer
repeatedly seems to suggest that e-bay "vets" all of its auctions and
that e-bay's lack of criticism is in fact a form of e-bay approval of
HIS special goods. Of course, this is not the case. RF has to
constantly remind that coin dealer that e-bay doesn't vet the goods
offered, and what is wrong with that reminder???
oly
Bob F.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the kind words, Oly, even if you are a mouth-breathing,
knuckle-dragging, right-wing troglodyte.
I have coinsusa in my kill file.
He seems to exist only to assert the value (or lack thereof) of my
posts.
I submit that it's his posts that add nothing to the general level of
discourse in this dysfunctional group of misanthropes.
But it's rewarding to note that I apparently get under his skin.
Mr. Jaggers
Bob, in your "dysfunctional group of misanthropes", could I suggest you find
a better word than "group" - maybe something like "tribe" or "pack" or
"gang"? You'd then have something marketable, kind of like the "effete
corps of impudent snobs."
James the Vice President
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
Hey, if you've got to be a Neanderthal, well, a far right-wing
Republican caveman is the only thing to be!!!
oly
Bob F.
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
news:h2su9...@enews5.newsguy.com...
Who about "nattering nabobs of negativism"? Nah, that's been used.
Mr. Jaggers
Stick with the dysfunctional misanthropes and you'll have it!
James the Well-Adjusted Philanthrope