art fraud

14 Stories

Duped Into Buying $6M in Fake Warhols, Family Sues

Florida family accuses Miami Fine Art Gallery, director Les Roberts of fraud

(Newser) - A family claims to have been duped by a Miami art gallery into paying more than $6 million for forged Andy Warhol works. "Les Roberts and Miami Fine Art Gallery are fraudsters," reads the lawsuit filed Thursday in state court in Miami, per the New York Times . Matthew,...

Alleged Smuggler Claimed Painting Was $1.4M da Vinci

He was arrested after experts determined it was a forgery from the early 20th century

(Newser) - An artwork that a Spanish man was planning to sell for $1.4 million was an early 20th-century forgery worth around $5,000 at best, not a Leonardo da Vinci painting, police say. The sale of the fake painting was thwarted when customs officers at a French border post spotted...

His Obsession With Collecting Turned Into a Quest for Justice

The New York Times has the fascinating story of art forger and his client

(Newser) - "Oh my God, I hit the mother lode." That's what Doug Arbittier recalls thinking in 2013 when he saw an exquisitely carved antique woodblock on eBay, writes Christopher Kuo for the New York Times . The item featured an anatomical model of a human thorax and abdomen and...

He Was an Art-Selling Wunderkind. And a Fraudster
He Was an
Art-Selling
Wunderkind.
And a Fraudster
longform
Mar 31, 2024 6:00 AM CDT

He Was an Art-Selling Wunderkind. And a Fraudster

'Vanity Fair' has the story of Inigo Philbrick

(Newser) - He was handed a seven-year prison sentence for what the FBI characterized as the largest art-based fraud scheme the US has ever seen. In late January 2024, after serving less than four years, Inigo Philbrick was released to home confinement. Writing for Vanity Fair , Mark Seal has the now-36-year-old's...

Museum Sues Ex-Director Over Fake Basquiats

Orlando Museum of Art says damage from fraud scheme may be irreparable

(Newser) - The Orlando Museum of Art has admitted its "99-year legacy was shattered" when it was found to be exhibiting fake paintings attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat. Now it wants justice. In a lawsuit filed Monday, OMA "seeks to hold responsible the people the Museum believes knowingly misrepresented the works'...

Fake Basquiats Took as Little as 5 Minutes to Create

California man admits involvement in art fraud scheme that embarrassed Orlando art museum

(Newser) - Most of the 25 paintings displayed in the Orlando Museum of Art's Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit were actually created by a 45-year-old auctioneer from California, whose name appeared on a shipping label on the back of one of the cardboard canvases, authorities say. Prosecutors announced they'd reached a plea...

Ex-Art Dealer Gets 7 Years in Prison for $86M Scheme

Inigo Philbrick defrauded buyers, fled to South Pacific when 'house of cards' crumbled: prosecutor

(Newser) - A former London and Miami art dealer who pleaded guilty to defrauding art buyers and others of more than $86 million was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison. Inigo Philbrick, 34, a US citizen who previously lived in London, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge Sidney H....

More Embarrassment for DC Bible Museum
These Dead Sea Scrolls
Turn Out to Be Fakes
in case you missed it
Mar 21, 2020 10:30 AM CDT

These Dead Sea Scrolls Turn Out to Be Fakes

Experts say all of DC museum's fragments are 'deliberate forgeries'

(Newser) - It would be more accurate to call the "Dead Sea Scrolls" at a museum in Washington, DC, the "Old Sandal Fakes," researchers say. A team of art fraud experts spent six months analyzing the supposed scroll fragments at the Museum of the Bible and concluded that billionaire...

Prince Charles Entangled in $136M Art Fraud Case

Forgeries were allegedly loaned to his charity

(Newser) - Prince Charles and his charity have been caught up in a royally big scandal over an alleged art hoax involving paintings supposedly worth $136 million. The Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso paintings were loaned to Dumfries House, the headquarters of the Prince's Foundation, by businessman James Stunt,...

Green Pigment a Telltale Clue in Art-Fraud Case: Suit

'St. Jerome' contains modern pigment: Sotheby's

(Newser) - St. Jerome was said to have been painted by an Italian Renaissance master and was displayed at Vienna's national gallery before it was sold at auction in 2012 for $842,500. The buyer apparently overpaid. Sotheby's now says the artwork is a fake, not painted by Parmigianino in...

Meet the Sweet Woman in a Massive Art Fraud
Meet the Sweet Woman at Center of Massive Art Fraud
in case you missed it
Nov 1, 2014 3:25 PM CDT

Meet the Sweet Woman at Center of Massive Art Fraud

Margaret Keane painted 'big eyes' works, but husband took credit

(Newser) - In its interview with 87-year-old Margaret Keane, the Guardian points out that the polite woman "is the last person you’d expect to be a participant in one of the great art frauds of the 20th century." But she is indeed, thanks to her "big eyes" paintings...

Major Art Trove Now Believed to Be Fakes

German 'hippie' behind multimillion-dollar forgeries, say investigators

(Newser) - A treasure trove of some 35 Expressionist artworks supposedly worth millions are now believed to be forgeries engineered by a one-time German hippie who has been living like a king, reports Der Spiegel . The art world had been amazed as the "lost" artworks from the early 20th century surfaced...

NYC Art Dealer Charged With $88M Fraud

(Newser) - A New York art dealer was charged today with stealing $88 million in investments and artwork in what may be an art-world Ponzi scheme, the Times reports. Investors and collectors say they entrusted Lawrence Salander with funds or artwork after the dealer promised hefty returns. In many cases, they were...

High-Profile Arts Patron Guilty of 12 Fraud Counts

Alberto Vilar cheated investors to pay debts, fund opera companies

(Newser) - Alberto Vilar, the investment banker and one of the world's most generous opera patrons, was convicted yesterday on 12 counts of fraud, Bloomberg reports. Vilar told investors that he was putting their money in safe, government-backed assets; in fact, he bought risky tech stocks on margin, which quickly tanked. Vilar...

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