Three men running a $33 million scam by making and selling fake paintings purportedly by world-famous artists over two decades have been charged in New York, Agence France-Presse reported.
Unsuspecting collectors purchased bogus pieces of art works, including fake pieces by Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollack, for tens of millions of dollars.
Chinese painter Pei Shen Qian, 75, has been charged with allegations of lying to FBI agents investigating the fraud. Among the trio, he allegedly made the forgeries and is believed to have fled to China.
Federal prosecutors caught and arrested brothers Jesus Angel Bergantinos Diaz, 65, and Jose Carlos Bergantinos Diaz, 58, last week in Spain, they said on Monday.
"Today's charges paint a picture of perpetual lies and greed. As alleged, the defendants tricked victims into paying more than $33 million for worthless paintings which they fabricated in the names of world-famous artists," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
"The Bergantinos Diaz brothers then laundered and hid their illegal proceeds overseas. With today's Indictment, the defendants must now answer for their alleged roles as modern masters of forgery and deceit."
From the early 1990's through at least June 2009, the three men, along with Glafira Rosales, who has already pleaded guilty, carried out the scheme.
Before Qian was brought into the ring to create the bogus mater works, he used to sell paintings on a street corner in Manhattan, prosecutors said. He was first spotted by Jose Carlos while conducting his business on the street corner.
According to AFP, Jose Carlos would buy up canvases of old paintings at flea markets, and stain newer canvases with tea bags. Qian would then be given the canvases to create what has been dubbed as the "the Fake Works."
Rothko, Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Motherwell are among some of the bogus works allegedly done by the trio.
