Antiques Roadshow experts jailed for fraud after appearing on show

BBC's Antiques Roadshow - the hugely popular antiques show where a guest was recently shocked by the valuation of a brooch she owned - has been caught up in controversy after a duo featured on the American edition faced legal troubles for fraud. Russ Pritchard III and George Juno, dealers in military artifacts, were charged with federal mail and wire fraud charges back in 2021.

According to ABC News, the pair were accused of performing sham appraisals on the US version of Antiques Roadshow, aiming to elevate their reputation as experts in Civil War-era weapons and military memorabilia. However, despite the serious charges, they insisted on their innocence.

With the charges made public, the alleged experts risked facing a staggering 60 years in prison along with fines up to a whopping $2.75 million (£2.1 million), as reported by the Express.

The defense for the embattled Pritchard came from his attorney Kirk Karaszkiewicz when he spoke to The Associated Press, declaring: "Mr. Pritchard maintains his innocence of these charges and we will vigorously defend them."

Among those purported to have been conned were relatives of Civil War figure Gen. George Pickett, celebrated for his infamous "Picket's Charge" during the Battle of Gettysburg. The indictment accuses Pritchard of cheating Pickett's family out of prized possessions by selling them for just about $88,000 (£68,000), falsely claiming to represent the Harrisburg National Civil War Museum."

Pickett expressed distress over the situation, saying: "He said the museum was paying top dollar. And that he was under an obligation to the museum to appraise these items for fair market value."

However, Pritchard had no connection with the museum and was later accused of selling the collection himself for a whopping $880,000 (£680,000) - 10 times what Pickett had received for the memorabilia, reports the Daily Record.

Upon learning about the professionals' actions and the actual value of the trunk's contents, George E. Pickett V, the great-great-grandson of the Civil War general, took legal steps.

In 1999, he filed a civil lawsuit against Pritchard over the sale of the artifacts. After just three hours of deliberation, a jury awarded Pickett $800,000.

However, according to Judy Matthews, the show's publicist, Roadshow believed that the jury's verdict did not reflect on Juno's and Pritchard's performance on the show.

The case then took another turn on December 21, 2001, when Pritchard pleaded guilty to over 20 charges, including wire fraud, mail fraud, theft from a museum, and Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property.

Then, on January 18, 2002, Pritchard Jr. and a former museum curator at the Civil War Library and Museum in Philadelphia were found guilty of theft from a museum and aiding and abetting after the fact, in the case involving the Hunt uniform.

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On July 11, 2002, Pritchard was given a one-year prison sentence and ordered to repay $830,000 for orchestrating fraudulent appraisals and swindling Civil War memorabilia collectors.

He admitted to giving false TV appraisals and also acknowledged that he had cheated artifact owners by undervaluing their items, only to resell them at a much higher price and keep the profits.