Two men from Washington state, Anthony Curcio, 43, of Redmond, and Iosif Bondarchuk, 37, of Lake Stevens, have found themselves in hot water after being arrested and facing charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The accusations revolve around their involvement in a sneaky scheme that saw them peddling deceitfully graded sports and Pokémon cards, raking in a staggering sum of over $2 million from unsuspecting buyers.
In a recent statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York disclosed that between 2022 and May 2024, Curcio and Bondarchuk allegedly partook in underhanded practices to sell these cards. Their modus operandi reportedly involved swapping lower-grade cards into cases that were misrepresented as higher-grade PSA 10 specimens, thus inflating their market values significantly.
One of the standout items in their inventory was a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card that was duplicitously touted as gem mint and sold for a whopping $171,000 on an online marketplace in Manhattan. However, the card was later unmasked as a counterfeit by the selling platform, MySlabs, prompting them to promptly report the issue to PSA and the authorities. Other misrepresented cards included a 2009 Topps rookie card of basketball star Stephen Curry and a 1980 Topps card featuring basketball legends Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Julius Erving.
Their deceptive practices weren’t confined to sports cards, as they allegedly also dabbled in the illicit trade of Pokémon cards. In a notable incident, a 1999 first-edition Venusaur card was offloaded to an undercover law enforcement officer in Manhattan for $10,500, falsely labeled as a prized PSA 10.
Curcio and Bondarchuk are now facing the music for allegedly offloading these questionable cards at various outlets, ranging from card shops and shows to online auctions. To add salt to the wound, it’s reported that when buyers raised concerns about the authenticity of their acquisitions, Bondarchuk allegedly threw them off the scent by providing false contact information, attributing it to unrelated individuals.
Should they be proven guilty, both men could potentially be staring at a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars. The investigation into their activities was a joint effort between the FBI and PSA’s Brand Protection division, showcasing a unified front in safeguarding collectors and the integrity of the trading card market.
This high-profile case serves as a stark reminder of the necessity for vigilance in the realm of collectibles, sounding a cautionary note for anyone contemplating treading down the treacherous path of engaging in similar deceitful practices.
