Auctioneer Faces Peers On Fraud Charges

A local antique dealer has been accused of stealing heirlooms from unsuspecting families, and a meeting of Triangle area auctioneers took those charges up for discussion Wednesday.

Robert Kelly has accused North Carolina auctioneer J. C. Knowles of agreeing to sell over 150 items for him, then not properly accounting for, returning or paying for those items, which came from the estate of Kelly's deceased neighbor.

Kelly has already taken his case to civil court, where he was awarded $27,000 in damages.

Kelly says it was "a long, grueling and painful process" tracking down the missing property