US lawsuit filed over $5m stamp dealer scam

A British stamp collector was the ringleader of a scheme to rig auctions that netted $5m and involved some of the world's leading dealers, a lawsuit filed in New York alleges.

The suit, filed by Maryland, New York and California, accuses seven people – including the British dealer, Anthony Feldman – of rigging bids at stamp auctions across America over the past 20 years. The three states claim the dealers kept bids low by holding their own secret auctions before public sales. Only the winner of the secret auction would bid.

In 1997, one dealer won a secret auction with a bid of $57,000 for a particular set of stamps. With none of the others bidding, hebought it at the public auction for $26,000 – $31,000 less than he had decided it was worth.