Collectibles Seller Accused of Fraud

Wedding bands supposedly belonging to Walt and Lillian Disney were among the counterfeit celebrity memorabilia that a Studio City man allegedly sold to a Maryland collectibles dealer for more than $230,000, U.S. attorney officials said Tuesday.

John R. Widener, 57, is expected to be arraigned Sept. 17 in U.S. District Court on 10 counts of mail fraud, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Peter Hernandez. A federal grand jury handed down the indictment Friday after a two-year investigation by the FBI.

From 1997 until early 1999, Widener sold more than 400 bogus mementos to Richard Wilson, owner of Norma’s Jeans in Chevy Chase, Md., Hernandez said. Widener was reimbursed for the items and received a 10% finder’s fee, which came to more than $230,000.

Wilson, who declined to comment Tuesday, was unaware the items were counterfeit, Hernandez said.

The alleged crime was reported to the FBI in the spring of 1999 by a person who had purchased a set of engraved wedding bands that supposedly belonged to the Disneys. The buyer became suspicious after noticing the wedding date engraved on the inside of the rings was different than the date in an unauthorized Disney biography he had read, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley.

Among the items that Widener allegedly acquired for Wilson were a Mickey Mouse Club tambourine that Wilson was selling for $1,795; an engraved cigarette lighter for $2,000 that reads, “To Walt Disney--Thanks so much, Annette Funicello”; and a $9,000 cigarette case engraved with the words, “To my friend Walt Disney--From Howard Hughes.”

Other confiscated items included a purse, bathrobe and underwear supposed to have belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales, along with various items allegedly owned by John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Jean Harlow, among others.

“By the looks of it, if someone was not a professional trained in spotting counterfeit items, one would say these were authentic and original,” Hernandez said.

The FBI estimates Americans spend $1 billion annually on autographed memorabilia, of which 90% could be counterfeit, Bosley said.