We have an update on a case first reported in May 2024, when the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged Anthony Curcio, 43, of Redmond, Washington, and Iosif Bondarchuk, 37, of Lake Stevens, Washington, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The charges, unsealed on May 22, 2024, allege a nationwide scheme involving sports and Pokémon trading cards that defrauded buyers and online marketplaces—including eBay, MySlabs, and Goldin Auctions—of over $2 million between 2022 and May 2024.
According to the indictment, Curcio (also known as “Brendan Wooley”) and Bondarchuk (also known as “Joe Bondarchuk”) misrepresented low-to-mid-grade trading cards as having high-grade certifications from PSA.
Fake PSA Holders
For example, they allegedly took a card graded PSA 8 or lower and placed it in a fraudulent PSA 10 holder—complete with fake barcodes, certification numbers, and tamper-resistant cases—to deceive buyers into paying inflated prices.
The FBI alleges these sales constituted wire fraud, with each charge carrying a potential 20-year prison sentence.
This isn’t Curcio’s first brush with legal trouble. In 2008, he orchestrated one of the most elaborately planned armored car heists in U.S. history, stealing over $400,000 in cash. He was eventually arrested and sentenced to six years in federal prison.
Anthony Curcio
But regarding the allegations of sports card fraud, Curcio maintains his innocence.
On March 24, 2025, Curcio, through his attorney, challenged the validity of a search warrant affidavit prepared by FBI Special Agent Christopher J. Campbell.
The defense argues that the investigation was tainted by misleading information from FBI agent Campbell and that PSA, targeted Curcio out of retaliation after he threatened to expose their questionable practices.
Curcio claims PSA’s actions began after he sold a 1986-87 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card on MySlabs, prompting the company to reverse its prior authentication of the card.
After the card sold, Curcio alleges that a competing card owner, dissatisfied with the low sale price, raised questions about its authenticity to PSA.
PSA abruptly deactivated the card’s certification before Curcio had an opportunity to resubmit it for inspection.
Curcio expressed to MySlabs CEO Matt Greaney his frustration and hinted he might expose PSA and what is referred to as “the good ol’ boy network” within the trading card industry.
The MySlabs CEO, Matt Greaney, informed FBI Special Agent Christopher J. Campbell that Curcio was planning to publicly criticize PSA’s practices. According to Curcio, this marked the beginning of PSA and the FBI’s efforts to target him.
In the wake of the MySlabs dispute, Curcio proactively submitted several PSA-graded cards for reholdering, hoping to prevent future authenticity disputes—such as the one involving the Jordan PSA 10— and avoid further embarrassment.
After submitting the cards, PSA essentially ghosted Curcio, failing to respond to his inquiries. Through discovery, Curcio’s attorneys later learned that PSA had damaged one of his reholder submissions—a PSA 10 Michael Jordan card, different from the MySlabs sale—while it was in their possession.
Behind the scenes PSA was communicating with the FBI asking them what they should do with Curcio's cards he just sent for reholdering. Below is that internal email.
Curcio claims he was targeted by PSA because he threatened to take legal action or publicly expose their practices. He believes PSA leveraged their connection with the FBI to silence him as a whistleblower.
After contacting the company multiple times about his reholdering submissions—without response—Curcio filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau and retained an attorney. Several months later, PSA informed him that his cards were being turned over to the FBI.
Curcio’s defense alleges PSA destroyed evidence by removing the cards from their holders, as admitted in a January 30, 2023, email from PSA’s Roxanne Ghezzi to FBI Special Agent Christopher J. Campbell.
PSA Email to FBI
When PSA removed Curcio’s cards from their holders, the defense argues this constituted tampering with evidence in the case.
Furthermore, Curcio’s attorney asserts that PSA and its affiliate Goldin Auctions—both subsidiaries of Collectors Universe at the time—solicited his business in November 2022, auctioning his high-value cards just days before reporting him to the FBI on December 5, 2022, via a PowerPoint presentation.
After the sales of Curcio’s cards, Goldin withheld full payment, claiming a $35,000 refund had to be issued to a buyer.
However, according to the defense, PSA confirmed the refunded card remained in their vault, and Goldin’s accounting ledger showed a credit balance owed to Curcio.
Curcio believes he was “set up” to consign cards to Goldin so PSA could build its case against him.
PSA CEO Nat Turner
Regarding the FBI’s claim that Curcio created fake slabs and labels, the defense disputes the listing of ordinary items—such as handheld inkjet printers, thermal barcode labels, a magnifier loupe, and a lock-cutting kit—as counterfeiting tools.
Curcio claims legitimate uses for these items: he’s an author requiring printers and a LEGO hobbyist using engraving tools.
The defense seeks a Franks hearing to examine these alleged misrepresentations and omissions, asserting that Curcio’s life has been devastated by a biased investigation fueled by PSA’s vendetta rather than credible evidence of fraud.
Follow updates on the case from Pacer.
