Father And Daughter Admit To $2m Banksy And Warhol Art Forgery Scam

A father-daughter duo has admitted to orchestrating an elaborate creation forgery strategy that defrauded New York City’s astir salient good creation auction houses and unwitting buyers retired of astatine slightest $2 million. Karolina Bankowska, 26, and her begetter Erwin Bankowski, 50, pleaded blameworthy connected Tuesday to charges of ligament fraud conspiracy and misrepresenting Native American–produced goods.

The blase cognition progressive creating astatine slightest 200 meticulously designed imitations of artworks by celebrated artists specified arsenic Banksy, Andy Warhol, and Andrew Wyeth. These fakes were past passed disconnected arsenic genuine, often targeting lesser-known pieces to debar contiguous suspicion.

New York City creation trader Robert Rogal recounted a sojourn from Karolina Bankowska a small complete a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile she presented a framed coating purportedly by Wyeth. Rogal, intrigued, accepted nan portion connected consignment, estimating its auction worth between. "The provenance was a small fuzzy," he said. "But she seemed credible. It wasn’t an evident counterfeit." Rogal now believes nan coating was a fake.

Prosecutors revealed that nan counterfeits were forged successful Poland by an unnamed co-conspirator, often utilizing ancient insubstantial and fabricated stamps of defunct galleries to lend an aerial of authenticity.

The astir lucrative fake, a purported activity by creator Richard Mayhew, was sold by DuMouchelles auction location past October for $160,000. A typical for DuMouchelles confirmed practice pinch national authorities but declined to remark further. Other targeted auction houses, including Bonhams and Phillips, either declined to remark aliases did not respond to inquiries.

The Bankowskis, Polish citizens domiciled successful New Jersey, look nan anticipation of much than 3 years successful situation nether national guidelines, on pinch $1.9 cardinal successful restitution and imaginable deportation to Poland. The complaint of misrepresenting Native American–produced equipment stems from their plagiarism of useful by Luiseño creator Fritz Scholder.

In court, Karolina Bankowska stated, "My behaviour was incorrect and I americium guilty." Her attorney, Todd Spodek, noted his customer had placed complete $1 cardinal successful an escrow account. Erwin Bankowski, done a Polish interpreter, besides apologized, pinch his lawyer Jeffrey Chabrowe adding that his customer had "regrettably made a unspeakable determination successful an effort to support his family."

The revelation of nan strategy has sent ripples done nan creation world, pinch experts describing it arsenic a classical illustration of a acold much prevalent rumor than galore successful nan manufacture attraction to admit.

"The only different point astir this lawsuit is that nan forgers sewage caught," said Erin Thompson, a professor of creation crime astatine nan City University of New York. "People deliberation of nan creation world arsenic a genteel spot afloat of cultured group who conscionable want to stock nan wonderment of beautiful art. You should presume location are a batch much fakes retired there."

The strategy began successful 2020 erstwhile nan Bankowskis started commissioning nan Polish artist. Scrutiny began to equine successful March 2023 erstwhile representatives for creator Raimonds Staprans discovered a forged painting, "Triple Boats," for sale.

Despite their interaction pinch nan auction house, nan coating sold for $60,000. Thompson besides noted irregularities successful nan clone Wyeth’s assemblage stamp, which listed a 1976 day but included a zoning reside phased retired successful 1962, coincidentally base nan sanction of M. Knoedler & Co., a assemblage that closed amid allegations of forgery.

Rogal yet grounded to database nan Wyeth, partially because nan stamp connected its backmost was "too clean." When he asked Bankowska to retrieve it, she ne'er responded. Re-examining nan coating successful a Queens warehouse, Rogal reflected, "You effort to do a work and supply it correctly. Can we beryllium fooled? Absolutely."