Mastro Auctions Founder William Mastro Sentenced to 20 Months for Shill Bidding and Altered Memorabilia

Case from 2015 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Aug. 21, 2015). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

William Mastro, former owner and CEO of sports memorabilia house Mastro Auctions, was sentenced on Aug. 20, 2015, to 20 months in federal prison for a shill-bidding scheme that used fake bids to inflate auction prices, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. He also admitted selling altered and dubious memorabilia, including a famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card whose edges he had trimmed.

How the scheme worked

According to Mastro's plea agreement, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. Shill bids: From 2002 to 2009, Mastro or colleagues placed phony bids in online and live auctions to drive up prices and protect consignors, at the expense of real bidders. If a shill bid won, the sale was canceled.
2. The Wagner card: Mastro admitted cutting the side borders of the T206 Honus Wagner card, one of the world's most valuable trading cards, and hiding that when he sold it in 1987. He failed to disclose the alteration in later auctions in 1991 and 2000; the 2000 sale brought more than $1 million. He also admitted cutting the card again in 1992, before it was submitted for grading.
3. The trophy ball: In 2006 he sold a purported 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings trophy ball for $62,000 without telling the buyer that an earlier buyer had returned it after lab testing found paint made after World War II.

Mastro Auctions, which also operated as Mastro Fine Sports and Mastro Net, had offices at various times in Oak Brook, Willowbrook and Burr Ridge, and closed in 2009 amid the federal investigation.

The people involved

William Mastro, 62, Palos Park, Ill.

• Plea (2013): one count of mail fraud.
• Sentence (Aug. 20, 2015): 20 months in prison, imposed by U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman, who noted Mastro had already paid a $250,000 fine [1].

Three other former Mastro Auctions employees admitted their roles, according to the release: former president Doug Allen (wire fraud) and former vice president Mark Theotikos (mail fraud), both awaiting sentencing at the time, and IT worker William Boehm, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and received two years of probation.

Red flags

• Bids that climb steadily from accounts with little history, especially when the auction house also owns or controls the item.
• Undisclosed restoration or trimming on high-value cards; insist on grading history.
• Provenance that skips over earlier returns or lab tests.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Ask the auction house in writing whether the house, its employees or consignors may bid, and get the item's full sale and grading history.
2. Report suspected auction fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov and your state attorney general.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
William Mastro, Palos Park, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Guzman)	Pleaded guilty 2013 to mail fraud; sentenced Aug. 20, 2015, to 20 months; $250,000 fine paid	[1]

The sentence was imposed in 2015; we have not found a source on Mastro's current custody status.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Former Owner Of Mastro Auctions Sentenced To 20 Months In Federal Prison In Shill-Bidding Scam," Aug. 21, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-owner-mastro-auctions-sentenced-20-months-federal-prison-shill-bidding-scam

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