On Monday, a California judge froze the assets of Superior Gold Group LLC of 100 Wilshire Boulevard, as well another office in Woodland Hills,  after it was accused of fraudulent business practices in a civil lawsuit filed against the company and owner Bruce Sands by the Los Angeles County district attorney and the Santa Monica city attorney.
Editors Note: This company has NO relationship to Superior Galleries, a well known and respected numismatic firm.

Superior Gold Group, which sold gold coins and bullion and other precious metals, is alledged to have taken  payments from customers but never delivered the gold ordered, charged prices much higher than fair market value and misled customers into buying expensive specialty coins according to the lawsuit, filed Friday.

In their lawsuit, the agencies said Superior Gold took advantage of investors who flocked to gold as the price of the precious metal rose and the value of many other investments fell in recent years.

“By fostering fear and confusion among its customers, Superior has induced them to pay far above market prices for various gold products,” the complaint said.

In a report by The LA Times, they recounted one victims story…”

Steven Siry, 61, of Los Angeles is one customer who believes he was ripped off. Siry said he invested $20,000 in a “gold IRA” through Superior Gold. But company representatives sold him collector’s coins at an inflated rate rather than offering him bullion, and it took more than a year and numerous phone calls before the coins were delivered to the trust company that was to hold them, he said.

Siry estimates the actual value of the gold, when it finally arrived, as a little more than half of what he paid for it.

“It was a big mess, it was uncomfortable, and I felt kind of stupid, quite frankly, because I didn’t do enough shopping before I used them,” he said.

In another complaint the victim stated: “Nearly two years ago (Mar. ‘09), I purchased approx. $47, 000 worth of gold and silver coins (my entire life savings). I have yet to recieve (sic) a single coin! I have been calling for years and they refuse to give me my money back or to buy my coins,” (more…)

Alledged “Coin Broker” Convinced Elderly Woman to put Life Savings Into Gold Coins, then Steals them Back

The Manhattan DA’s office announced the indictment of a “rare coin broker” who allegedly convinced an elderly woman and her daughter to invest their life savings in rare gold and silver coins, and then stole $430,000 worth of the coins back from them.

The “Coin Broker/Advisor”, Stephanie Brown of Paradise Valley, Arizona, has been charged with grand larceny, fraud and forgery to name a few, and DA Cy Vance said, “The defendant preyed upon the victims’ fears of a national financial collapse and convinced them to sink their life savings into collector coins.”

According to a Wall Street Journal Article,”Over the next two and a half years, the 83-year-old mother ensnared in the alleged scheme spent $1 million — her life’s savings — and her daughter paid $80,000 to acquire about 160 coins, according to prosecutors. Brown earned $100,000 in commission on the sales.Brown began selling them coins in March of 2007, and soon convinced them to “liquidate all financial investments they held and to invest their life’s savings in gold coins.” The mother and daughter combined spent about $1.1 million on the coins, and Brown  reportedly earned commissions of about $100,000.

Brown then allegedly convinced the two to keep the coins at home, and then gained entry to their house, after which she was left alone with the coins. She is accused of destroying the documents identifying the coins and stealing 57 of their 160 coins, worth $430,000. Prosecutors have now recovered 16 of the stolen coins, which Brown had resold.

Brown is currently under investigation in connection with coin sales in California and Arizona, prosecutors said, but she has not been charged in those states. She was a former employee of ITM Trading and began her own business, GBA Gold, a/k/a GBA Investments LLC ( The Web Site has been suspended) 26546 N. Alma School Road #230 Scottsdale, AZ 85255 ( Better Business Member with an A- rating joined on 7/20/2010)

Editors Note: If you read through a number the articles written about this story, it is amazing to read certain statements and characterizations.

For example, Ms Brown was described as a “Rare Coin Expert” in one WSJ article. Funny, i thought she was just a thief and a con artist. Is she indeed a “Coin Expert” or just a person selling coins? You decide. Here is a link to a brief profile on Ms. Brown.

In another article the Daily News writer made the following comment on the Gold market; “While gold has traded at an all-time high, topping $1,400 an ounce in the past few days, collectible coins are not as safe as gold because they are gilt, not solid gold.”  Even Assistant District Attorney Adam Kaufmann gave his opinion on the coin market saying.”Gold coins are not a great hedge in these economic times” REALLY?

Finally Minyanville.com took a more political angle on the story with their headline “Gold Coin Scammer Takes Page From Glenn Beck’s Playbook” Somehow I don’t think this story has anything to do with Glen Beck, Fox News, Goldline or NY Rep Wiener. Give it a rest….

Stolen Coins Removed from London Auction

The Sofia News Agency reported that Bulgarian medieval coins which were to part of a Nov 10th auction by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc in London has been removed from the sale, including a very rare silver penny of despot Dobrotitsa, minted in Kaliakra.

In 2007, a collection of 500 medieval crosses and 2 000 medieval coins, including the said silver penny, were stolen from the home of one of the authors of the book titled “Bulgarian Antique Coins from the 9th to the 15th Century Period” , published in 1999.

After the joint operation between the Main Directorate “Criminal Police,” the Bulgarian Culture Ministry, and the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of Cassations, the Bulgarian medieval coins have been taken off the auction site and their sale halted. (more…)

Numismatic Crime Information Crime Bulletin/Alert

The South St. Paul Minnesota Police Department is investigating the September 26, 2010 vehicle burglary of coin dealer Lee Orr. At approximately 2:10pm in the afternoon the victim was loading his vehicle preparing to leave a local coin show in South St. Paul.

When the victim walked back inside the show to retrieve the last of his inventory two white male suspects smashed the windows in his vehicle and removed two cases of coins.

The following is a partial list of coins;
GOLD COINS: 2 1895 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw 1 1896 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw 2 1897-S $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw 1 1900 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw 1 1901 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw 1 1904 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw 1 1906 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw D or S 1 1907 $20 Lib Au/Bu Raw D or S 7 1908 $20 Saint Au/Bu Raw 3 1910-S $20 Saint Au/Bu Raw 1 1913 $20 Saint AU Raw 1 1913-D $20 Saint AU Raw 1 1914-S $20 Saint Au/Bu Raw 1 1915-S $20 Saint Au/Bu Raw 4 1922

DOLLARS: 1 1903-S $1 NGC MS62 White 2 1903-O $1 PCGS MS63 White 1 1901-S $1 PCGS MS64 White 1 1894 $1 VF/XF Raw 1 1893-S $1 PCGS VG original 1 1892-CC $1 AU Raw – White Dipped out. 1 1885-S $1 PCGS MS63 White

HALF DOLLARS – CENTS: 1 1806 50c ANACS VF30 Deep Gray toning with blue between rims & stars 1 1806 50c VF Raw 1 1808/7 50c AU Raw 1 1809 50c AU Raw 1 1811 50c AU Raw 1 1839-O 50c XF/AU Raw – Cleaned & retoned 1 1872-CC 50c VF/XF Raw – Cleaned & retoned 1 1923-S 25c XF40 Raw 1 1896-S 25c AG Raw 2 1896-S 25c Good Raw 1 1913-S 25c Good Raw 1 1807 10c VF Raw – Obv 1 1812 1c AU Raw – Distinct Rim Nick showing bright copper color

4 Double Row Boxes Raw Collector Coins with many key dates 1 Double Row Box Slabs Dollars after 1880, Commemoratives, Gold.

Any dealer or collector having information regarding this offense should contact:
Det. Julie Bishop
South St. Paul PD
612-747-2409
Or
Doug Davis
Numismatic Crime Information Center
817-723-7231

The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation established as a resource for dealers, collectors, victims and law enforcement during the investigation of a numismatic crime. All donations are tax deductible.