It has both a good and bad week for art crime in the news. The bad news is the heist of a number of Picassos from his granddaughter Diana’s home, two paintings of which (shown below) have been valued together at $66 million.
On the bright side is the following article that AP ran on March 8, 2007:
“A couple who sold art through televised auctions admitted selling bogus works and forging signatures of artists including Picasso, Chagall and Dali in a scam that bilked buyers out of millions of dollars, prosecutors said.
“In court documents filed Monday, Kristine Eubanks, 49, and her husband, Gerald Sullivan, 51, of La Canada, in Los Angeles County, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property and violating tax laws. The operation involved the couple’s satellite television show ‘Fine Arts Treasures Gallery’. Prosecutors said the couple agreed to cooperate in a continuing criminal probe to capture other scam artists. The two have not formally entered pleas.
“The government estimated that the show defrauded more than 10,000 people who paid more than $20 million for bogus art. Investigators seized nearly $4 million when Eubanks and Sullivan were arrested in September.”