Seven Indicted In Worldwide Art Fraud Case

Must Run 3-28,

SEVEN INDICTED IN WORLDWIDE ART FRAUD CASE

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By Don Babwin

Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO, ILL. (AP) — Federal authorities announced March 19 the indictment of seven people on charges of producing and selling counterfeit prints of works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali and others.

A probe by authorities in the United States and Spain uncovered two separate but overlapping schemes in which thousands of counterfeit prints were sold around the world for more than $5 million in profit, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said at a news conference in Chicago.

The fake prints were sold, some for as much as $50,000 each, to dealers and on the Internet auction site eBay, to buyers in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and Japan, authorities said.

Some of the suspects allegedly manufactured the prints, which included counterfeit artists’ signatures in Spain and Italy, and produced false certificates of authenticity, Fitzgerald said. When the items were for sale on the Web some suspects engaged in “shill bidding’’ to drive the prices up, he said.

“To give you a sense of the volume of materials sold it is alleged in the indictment that the defendants issued 2,500 counterfeit (Alexander) Calder prints and 600 counterfeit Chagall prints,’’ Fitzgerald said, adding that in some cases dealers allegedly involved were told not to try to sell too many fakes at once.

Among those indicted on the fraud charges were James Kennedy, a Northbrook man who was arrested in Florida earlier this year in a counterfeit art probe and charged with threatening to retaliate against a witness.

In that case, authorities seized dozens of prints in a raid of a Chicago art gallery. Fitzgerald declined to say whether the charges announced are related to that raid. Among the allegations against Kennedy is that he forged signatures of artists, including Picasso and Chagall.

An office phone number for Kennedy’s attorney was not accepting messages March 19.

Also indicted was Michael Zabrin, a Northbrook art dealer. He is accused of selling the prints to art dealers and other buyers, and allegedly providing certificates of authenticity that he knew contained false information.

Zabrin has an unlisted telephone number and it was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Most of the items sold were counterfeits of original limited-edition prints, authorities said.

Such prints, which are prepared from an impression created by the artist or under the artist’s supervision, can be extremely valuable. The artist approves and signs them, and the master impression is destroyed to make sure the edition is limited.

Fitzgerald would not say how long the investigation went on and how it began, but authorities said undercover officers purchased bogus prints in the United States and Europe.

The schemes outlined in the two indictments went on for roughly the last eight years, Fitzgerald said. The suspects are charged with as many as ten counts, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

One of the suspects remains in Spain and another in Italy, Fitzgerald said. Neither has been arrested, but Fitzgerald said his office would seek the extradition of both.

Kennedy was in custody in Chicago. Some of the others have not been arrested but Fitzgerald said he expected them to be arraigned shortly.