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 charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Their alleged scheme involved the deceptive sale of fraudulently graded sports and Pokémon cards, raking in a whopping $2 million from unsuspecting buyers.
The charges brought against Curcio and Bondarchuk stem from their activities between 2022 and May 2024. The duo is said to have engaged in misleading practices by swapping out lower-grade cards with cases that misrepresented them as higher-grade PSA 10 specimens. This manipulation resulted in a significant inflation of the market values of these misrepresented cards.
One of the notable items involved in the fraudulent sales was a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card. This card, falsely labeled as gem mint, was sold for a staggering $171,000 through an online marketplace in Manhattan. The selling platform, MySlabs, later detected the fraud and reported it to the authorities and PSA. Other misrepresented cards included a 2009 Topps rookie card of basketball player Stephen Curry and a 1980 Topps card featuring basketball legends Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Julius Erving.
The fraudulent activities went beyond sports cards to include Pokémon cards as well. For instance, a 1999 first-edition Venusaur card was sold under false pretenses to an undercover law enforcement officer in Manhattan for $10,500, mislabeled as PSA 10.
Curcio and Bondarchuk allegedly peddled these fake cards at various venues, including card shops, shows, and online auctions. In cases where buyers raised concerns about the authenticity of their purchases, Bondarchuk reportedly provided false contact information, attributing it to unrelated individuals.
Facing the gravity of their actions, both men could be looking at a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The FBI and PSA’s Brand Protection division worked together during the investigation, demonstrating the concerted efforts to safeguard collectors and maintain the integrity of the trading card market.
This case not only sheds light on the importance of exercising vigilance in the collectibles market but also serves as a stark warning to others who may contemplate engaging in similar deceitful practices.
