Art News — Vasari

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article news schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 9 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

Father Daughter Counterfeiting Duo Face Twenty Years in Prison

A father-daughter duo from New Jersey, Erwin Bankowski (50) and Karolina Bankowska (26), pleaded guilty to creating and selling over 200 counterfeit artworks falsely attributed to artists including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Fritz Scholder, and Banksy. They admitted to wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresentation of Native American-produced goods, defrauding buyers out of at least $2 million. The pair fabricated provenances and collection histories, forged gallery stamps, and attempted to auction the works for up to $160,000 each. They each face up to 20 years in prison.

newspaper Artforum open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 4 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

con artist charged for fraudulent sale of courbet painting 1234764258

American con artist Thomas Doyle, 68, has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly defrauding London gallery owner Patrick Matthiesen over a Gustave Courbet painting. Doyle claimed to manage a family trust with billions in assets and offered to broker the sale of Courbet's 1844 oil painting *Mother and Child on a Hammock* without commission. Instead, he delivered the work to his partner Shalva Sarukhanishvili, who sold it to Jill Newhouse Gallery for $115,000; the gallery then resold it to collector Jon Landau for $125,000. Matthiesen received no proceeds and filed a lawsuit against Doyle, Sarukhanishvili, Jill Newhouse Gallery, and Landau. Doyle has a prior fraud conviction involving a Corot painting and was described by a judge as a "career criminal."

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Sep 27, 2025 visibility 9 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

george soros trump open society foundations investigation 1234753658

The Trump administration has escalated its attacks on billionaire philanthropist George Soros, with the Justice Department calling for an investigation into his Open Society Foundations. The foundations, which provide substantial grants to artists and human rights organizations globally, are accused of potential racketeering, wire fraud, and material support for terrorism, based on allegations from the conservative Capital Research Center. Soros, a major Democratic donor, has previously been targeted by Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who claim the foundations fund leftist protests. The Open Society Foundations have awarded $100,000 fellowships to numerous prominent artists, including Firelei Báez, Yto Barrada, and Nicholas Galanin, and provided $1.2 billion in funding in 2024 alone.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Aug 22, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist, 3 galleries

inigo philbrick bbc documentary 1234749781

Inigo Philbrick, the disgraced art dealer who defrauded investors and dealers out of millions of dollars, appears on camera in a forthcoming BBC documentary titled "The Great Art Fraud." Philbrick was sentenced in 2022 to seven years in US prison for wire fraud and identity theft, ordered to forfeit $86 million and two paintings, and was released early in 2024. The two-part documentary, previewed by The Guardian, features Philbrick expressing remorse but also boasting about his past deals and ambition to return to the art trade. It explores his background—son of a former museum director and a Harvard-educated writer—his internship at White Cube, and his life with socialite Victoria Baker-Harber, with whom he hid in Vanuatu before FBI arrest.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Sep 15, 2025 visibility 4 link 4 artists

taylor swift ex neighbor sentenced selling fake picassos basquiats 1234751795

Carter Reese, a 77-year-old former teacher and college admissions consultant from Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 60 days in prison, two years of supervised release, a $50,000 fine, and $186,125 in restitution for selling forged artworks attributed to Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Joan Miró. Reese pleaded guilty to wire fraud and mail fraud in May, admitting that from 2019 to 2021 he sold or attempted to sell counterfeit pieces using false affidavits and signatures, and claimed he acquired them from a supplier using the pseudonym 'Ken James'—who had previously been convicted for selling $1 million in fake art.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 1 link 11 artists

pennsylvania man pleads guilty fake picasso basquiat 1234744466

A 77-year-old Pennsylvania man, Carter Reese, pleaded guilty on May 29 to wire fraud and mail fraud for selling artworks falsely attributed to major modern and contemporary artists including Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Fernand Léger, and Francis Bacon. The scheme ran from February 2019 to March 2021, and was uncovered by the FBI's Art Crime Team in Philadelphia and Miami. Reese, a former teacher and admissions director at Pottstown's Hill School, also claimed a personal collection of 17,000 antiques valued at over $6 million.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 3 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

Taylor Swift's former neighbour pleads guilty to selling fake Basquiat, Warhol and Picasso works

Carter Reese, a 77-year-old Pennsylvania man and former neighbor of Taylor Swift, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and mail fraud for selling forged artworks by Francis Bacon, Keith Haring, Jean Cocteau, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, and Jean-Michel Basquiat between February 2019 and March 2021. Reese misled buyers with false affidavits and signatures, claiming the forgeries came directly from the artists or from a deceased collector and a supplier using the alias "Ken James," who was later convicted of selling counterfeit art. Reese faces up to 40 years in prison, with sentencing set for September 12.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original