The Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA) has named an 11-member steering committee and formed eight work groups to begin the work of its Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (ACTF).
Earlier this year, the ICTA established the ACTF and named Beth Deisher as its director. According to the task force, its mission is to “mobilize law-enforcement resources to protect the integrity of U.S. and world coinage by educating officials on the economic impact and growing threat of counterfeit circulating, collectible, and bullion coins.”
“We are extremely pleased to have leaders step forward and volunteer their time and expertise as we begin working with various levels of law enforcement to combat counterfeiting and the threat it poses to the numismatic market and to the economies of the United States and other Western nations,” said Deisher.
Deisher was editor of Coin World for 27 years and remained active through writing and presenting educational forums since her retirement from the magazine in 2012. She was inducted into the Numismatic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Joe De Rosa, vice president of Loomis International, is serving as chair of the steering committee. Also on the committee are Simon Codrington, international director of Hugh Wood; Bill Daddio, retired chief of the U.S. Mint Police; Bob Brueggeman, executive director of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG); Michael Fuljenz, owner of Universal Coin and Bullion; John Schuch II, a grader with Numismatic Guaranty Corp.; Mark Stephenson, vice president of Professional Coin Grading Service; Scott Schwartz, of Fidelitrade; Scott Dagen, of Dillon-Gage; Greg Allen, owner of Greg Allen Coins; and Dr. Ute Wartenberg-Kagin, a researcher and expert in ancient coins.
Deisher said each steering-committee member will either lead or co-lead a work group composed of experts who will be taking on specific projects and assignments.
“Our organizational approach is intentionally different from the usual committee structure because members of our groups will be rolling up their sleeves and working on an ongoing basis.”
Experts who will join the steering committee in the work groups include Joe Boche, a special agent with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and Fraud Bureau; Joseph E. Boling, a researcher, author, and U.S. and foreign paper-money specialist; Doug Davis, of Numismatic Crime Network; Bob Campbell, a counterfeit-detection instructor; ANA President Jeff Garrett, also of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries; Kenneth Gubin, retired chief counsel of the U.S. Mint; Jimmy Hayes, former member of Congress and ICTA lobbyist; incoming PNG president Barry Stuppler, also of Barry Stuppler and Co.; Fred Weinberg, an error specialist; and Mary Lannin, an independent numismatic researcher.
The eight work groups and their focus are:
- Law-Enforcement Liaison, which aims to identify areas of co-operation and develop working relationships with federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies in the U.S.;
- Expert Networks, which aims to identify and develop teams of experts in various areas of the U.S. who can identify counterfeits for law-enforcement agencies and act as expert witnesses to testify in court proceedings;
- Education, which aims to develop curricula, workshops, and seminars to assist in educating law-enforcement professionals about counterfeit coins and paper money in the marketplace;
- Research, which aims to assist law enforcement by identifying methods of entry and distribution networks of counterfeit coins and paper money in the U.S.;
- Packaging Security, which aims to develop direct channels of communication for law enforcement to be able to identify counterfeit third-party coin and paper-money holders, fake certificates, and product packaging of various federal and private mints;
- Transport and Storage Security, which aims to identify and develop best practices to prevent infiltration of counterfeit coin and bullion products into commercial transport and storage facilities;
- Laws and Regulations, which aims to review and identify changes needed in current U.S. local, state, and federal laws and regulations regarding the manufacture, possession, and buying and selling of counterfeit coins and paper money as well as review and identify changes needed to prohibit the use of fake certificates and packaging and the marketing of such items, including advertising practices in print and online offerings; and
- Finance and Fundraising, which aims to develop an annual task-force budget and implement a fund-raising campaign to generate sufficient funding to support the work of the task force.