Another collectible scandal

[RedRaven]

Here

[FlyingDonut]

Take the time to read this. Yikes.

 

From the story:

 

Escala today declines to answer questions about its status, beyond declaring that it intends to cooperate “fully” with the SEC investigation. But in an exclusive interview with FOX News, Greg Manning –- the founder and vice-chairman of the company now majority-owned by Afinsa –- defended both Afinsa and Escala vehemently.

 

The charges in Spain are bogus,” Manning says. “The real story is what short-sellers and the media have done to the company, and that story I’m confident will someday be told. I built a reputation that I take very seriously. It was all above board.”

 

Manning, 59, is one of the best-known figures in the stamp collecting business. Indeed, he rose from trading stamps as a Boy Scout into the most powerful industry player in North America. In 1993, he took his auction firm public as Greg Manning Auctions International, with the goal of becoming a one-stop powerhouse for all collectibles, from coins and baseball cards to stamps, art and comics.

 

Manning was among the first to offer loans to mom-and-pop stamp dealers –- giving them huge cash advances and up to 90 days repayment time to divide up and sell collection lots that they otherwise couldn’t afford to touch. The sales took place through his auctions, and Manning made money on all sides of the transactions.

 

[uclapeterg]

Take the time to read this. Yikes.

 

From the story:

 

The charges in Spain are bogus,” Manning says. “The real story is what short-sellers and the media have done to the company, and that story I’m confident will someday be told. I built a reputation that I take very seriously. It was all above board.”

 

 

Didn't Kenneth Lay say the same thing?

[jbud73]

I personally love these quotes:

 

“The security laws are not intended to take away the stupidity of investors, just to level the playing field,” explains former SEC attorney, Ernest Badway.

 

“Anyone who thinks stamps are for investing needs to have their head examined,” declared Ariel Hasid, waving his arms in disbelief from behind his booth at the show. Hasid, the third-generation owner of West Island Philatelics, is one of the country’s leading dealers of rare Canadian stamps, a small block of which he is selling this week for $100,000. “We cannot prove how many stamps exist — of any stamps,” he said. “It is all speculation and guesswork.”

 

I will try to remember these 2 quotes when entering the HG CGC waters.