Two men from Washington state, Anthony Curcio, 43, of Redmond, and Iosif Bondarchuk, 37, of Lake Stevens, have recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, they stand accused of orchestrating a sophisticated scheme that saw them peddling counterfeit sports and Pokémon cards. The sum they were able to slyly acquire through their dealings? A jaw-dropping $2 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York uncovered the duo’s mischievous endeavors, which spanned from 2022 to May 2024. Curcio and Bondarchuk cunningly engaged in deceptive practices to dupe buyers into purchasing fraudulently graded cards. Their modus operandi entailed surreptitiously replacing lower-grade cards with fake gem mint PSA 10 specimens, effectively inflating the cards’ market values.
One of the crown jewels of their illicit operation was a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card. The card, falsely portrayed as a gem mint specimen, fetched a whopping $171,000 in an online marketplace in Manhattan. However, the platform that facilitated the sale, MySlabs, soon discovered the card’s true nature and swiftly alerted PSA and law enforcement officials. The duo did not stop at the iconic Jordan rookie but attempted to pass off other misrepresented gems, including a 2009 Topps Stephen Curry rookie card and a 1980 Topps card featuring Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Julius Erving.
The devious duo’s antics were not confined to sports cards alone, as they delved into the realm of Pokémon as well. A 1999 first-edition Venusaur card, masquerading as a PSA 10, exchanged hands for $10,500 with an undercover officer in Manhattan.
Curcio and Bondarchuk weren’t picky about where they tried to offload their counterfeit treasures, trying their luck at card shops, shows, and online auctions. To add insult to injury, Bondarchuk resorted to providing false contact information to buyers who voiced doubts about the authenticity of their purchases, further muddying the waters.
Should the law catch up with them and the charges stick, both individuals could be facing a lengthy stint in prison – up to 20 years, to be exact. The FBI and PSA’s Brand Protection division joined forces during the investigation, spotlighting the ongoing battle to shield collectors and maintain the integrity of the trading card market.
This cautionary tale sheds light on the imperative need for vigilance in the world of collectibles. It serves as a stark reminder to those contemplating treading similar deceptive paths, that in the card-collecting realm, trust is the most valuable possession of all. Long live legitimacy and transparency in the land of treasure troves!
