$ 33 Million Defendants Defined in Case of Selling Fake Artworks

NEW YORK. This week in New York, three men were charged with a $ 33 million scam. For more than two decades, the defendants have faked and sold artworks allegedly owned by world-famous artists through an art gallery.

Among the fictitious works, works attributed to Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock dominated. They were sold to unsuspecting collectors for tens of millions of dollars. What is characteristic, according to the investigation, all the fakes were made by a native of China - the largest supplier of replicas of famous things of all categories, including works of art. Now 75-year-old Shen-pei Qian, the artist involved in this case, is on the run, presumably in his homeland. Among other things, he was charged with complicating the case and deceiving FBI investigating agents.

The other two accused, brothers Jesus Angel Bergantinos Díaz, 65, and Jose Carlos Bergantinos Díaz, 58, were arrested last week in Spain. Manhattan Prosecutor Preet Barara said in an official statement: “Today’s accusations paint us a picture of eternal lies and greed. According to the investigation, the defendants forced to pay their victims more than $ 33 million for insignificant paintings that showed the names of world-famous artists. ”

“The Bergantinos Diaz brothers laundered all funds obtained through illegal means and hid them in foreign accounts. Now, fraudsters should be held accountable for their involvement in illegal trade, forgery and consumer fraud, ”he said.

Thus, at the moment in the fraud case are three men and Glafira Rosales, a gallery employee through whom fake paintings came true. Rosales has already pleaded guilty, and told the investigation that this scheme of deceiving collectors and art lovers worked from the beginning of the 1990s until June 2009.

Jose Carlos Bergantinos Diaz first met Qian on a street corner in Manhattan, where a Chinese artist sold his paintings. Diaz led the painter to participate in a criminal scheme. For their fakes, scammers bought old paintings on flea markets, or processed new canvases with tea bags for artificial aging.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru