Better Business Bureau Warns of 'Madoff' Auction 'Scam'
Georgia Firm Holds Madoff Auctions -- Without Madoff Items
There was another "Bernie Madoff Auction" in Syracuse, New York on Monday -- but the man running the sale couldn't guarantee that any of the items actually belonged to the disgraced financier or victims of his Ponzi scheme, prompting a spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau to call the auction itself a "scam."
Similar auctions have been held across the Eastern U.S., most, like the Syracuse auction, arranged by Atlanta-based Southern Star Auctioneers and affiliated companies.
"If a business advertises itself as a 'Bernie Madoff Auction,' but doesn't have any Bernie Madoff items, then I would call that a scam," Alison Southwick, national media relations manager for the Better Business Bureau, told ABC News.
According to Southern Star's John Schmidt, manager of the Syracuse auction, his company works with Madoff victims who are looking to liquidate their belongings. "They'll bring us their items that they have purchased and say, 'Well, I need to get some money back because I got screwed over in the Bernie Madoff scandal, can you help me?'" Schmidt told Syracuse ABC affiliate WSYR-TV.
Click here to go behind the scenes of Brian Ross' investigation into Bernie and Ruth Madoff.
But Schmidt couldn't name one item at the sale that belonged to Madoff or his victims. According to Schmidt, his firm is unable to provide such information because it doesn't do an inventory after every sale.
Schmidt told WSYR that to ensure the Madoff items are legitimate, his company requires the seller to sign a document verifying their authenticity. But Schmidt could not produce an example of such a document in Syracuse, saying he did not have one with him.
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