""For years, these defendants painted themselves as purveyors of fine art while selling lies on canvas. Today's convictions strip away the varnish and reveal the fraud underneath.""
""The scheme placed more than 200 counterfeit works into galleries and auction houses across the U.S., complicating provenance verification for potential buyers.""
""Some works claimed to have belonged to private collections or corporate collections that had since closed, making it difficult for galleries to verify authenticity.""
""The counterfeit works included a whitewash seaside scene purportedly by Raimond Staprans which sold for $60,000, and a cardboard work attributed to Banksy which sold for $2,000.""
Erwin Bankowski and Karoline Bankowska admitted to running a counterfeit art scheme that defrauded buyers of at least $2 million. They misrepresented Native American-produced goods and face up to 20 years in prison. The operation involved over 200 counterfeit works, with fabricated ownership histories and forged gallery stamps. The counterfeit art included pieces attributed to renowned artists like Andy Warhol and Banksy, complicating provenance verification for galleries and buyers. The U.S. Attorney emphasized the deception behind their operations.
Read at Artnet News
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