Steven Curry, a 59-year-old man from Montrose, Colorado, faces an investigation from the Colorado Attorney General's office after allegations that he tried to sell fake meteorites.
Curry had listed a "lunar meteorite" on eBay for $512,000, and according a NewsCore article, promised potential buyers the purchase would be 80 percent tax deductible.
Documentation form the attorney general's office states Curry's company Uncompahgre Meteorites attempted to sell meteorites and then redistribute the revenues through his charitable organization, The Osirius Foundation.
Curry also faces scrutiny for "meteorites" he donated to the Montrose County Historical Society, writes The Courthouse News. He claimed five items donated there were valued at close to $59 million, including one piece stated to contain the remains of a living organism from Ganymede, one of Jupiter's four largest moons.
Chemical testing from meteorites Curry had attempted to sell on consignment indicated they were comprised of man-made carbon steel. The Denver Channel reports Curry allegedly threatened officials at CU's Fiske Planetarium and Science Center, and at the Colorado School of Mines after they told him his specimens were not meteorites.
Reached for comment by The Denver Post, Curry said he plans to sue his accusers and those who disputed the authenticity of his meteorites. "I will not quit until I have [Colorado Attorney General] John Suthers' job," he said.
Curry also told The Denver Post he intended to sue eBay for $12 billion because the company removed his item from their listings.
In February, Curry told KJCT8 the ongoing police investigation against him was "operating on information that's not scientifically based."
