New Fraud Complaint Filed Against Russell Pritchard III

PHILADELPHIA, PENN.

:A civil action complaint was filed Wednesday, December 14, in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against Bryn Mawr auctioneer Russell Pritchard III. The complaint alleges that he defrauded a Doylestown woman during a transaction that involved the auctioning of her antiques this past June.

The filing centers on a consignment of approximately 60 "family heirlooms" that were contracted to be sold at auction by Pritchard at Main Line Auction in early 2005. The auction gallery listed an address of 650 West Lancaster Street, Bryn Mawr, Penn. Since the consignment, both the address of the auction house and the name have changed to Bryn Mawr Auction Co. LLC, with an address of 760 West Lancaster Street. Pritchard had also served as an officer of American Ordnance Preservation Association.

According to the papers filed in court, Sandra Udinson, a 59-year-old widow from Doylestown, consigned the antiques via a contract that assured her the right to set reserves. Many of the pieces were ultimately sold without reserves, according to Udinson, including a walnut Chippendale highboy that was valued at $8,517, and a cherry Chippendale highboy appraised at $5,678 during an insurance appraisal in 2000.

"He told me that auction didn't go well and that he got $900 for one of my highboys from a bidder on eBay and $1,100 for the other," stated Udinson. "I also gave him several chairs and he said that he had grouped my four Windsors into one lot and that they sold for $25," she said. One appraised English sack-back Windsor armchair that was allegedly sold separately for $45, according to Udinson, had been appraised for $966. Udinson also reported a cherry tilt top table that was sold for $150, although her appraisal valued the piece at $1,250.

"He refused to call me back," she said, "and when I finally did hear from him, he said that all of my things had been sold and they only brought $3,000. Later, he changed his story and said they sold for $6,000. And after that he told my lawyer that he still had some of the pieces that he had already told me were sold. Luckily, my lawyer was able to get a few of them back," she said.

Pritchard has nine counts filed against him in the complaint that allege, among other things, "Fraud," "Unfair Trade Practices," "Breach of Contract" and "Professional Negligence." A jury trial has been "demanded" and a preliminary judgment of "$50,000, plus interest, costs, attorney's fees and such other relief as the court deems just" has been requested.

Pritchard has been the subject of previous legal action that resulted in his removal from the popular PBS Antiques Roadshow after staging a fraudulent appraisal. "On July 11, 2002, Russell Pritchard III was sentenced to one year in prison and was ordered to repay $830,000 for staging phony appraisals and defrauding Civil War militaria collectors. Pritchard III, 39, pleaded guilty to making false TV appraisals. He also admitted defrauding artifact owners by giving them low appraisals on items, then reselling them at much higher prices and keeping the profits for himself," states the FBI Art Theft Program website.

The FBI Art Theft website can be viewed at www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/noticerecov.htm.

Russell Pritchard III had not returned phone calls to comment on the current complaint as of press time.

When queried about the possibility of a new criminal case against Pritchard III, Robert Goldman of the US Attorney General's office, the original prosecuting attorney in the Pritchard criminal case, abruptly stated, "I can't comment on that."