Upon comparing the paintings to the eBay listing's photographs, they found discrepancies and concluded that the purchased paintings were not authentic. The buyer attempted to contact Walshe, who initially did not respond and later provided excuses for the delay in refunding the buyer's money.
A Lynn man has been sentenced for his involvement in a complex art fraud scheme that spanned several years and centered on two purported Andy Warhol paintings.
Brian R. Walshe, 49, received a 37-month prison sentence and three years of supervised release from U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young. He was also ordered to pay $475,000 in restitution. Walshe pleaded guilty in April 2021 to wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, and unlawful monetary transaction.
The scheme began in early November 2016 when a buyer discovered two Andy Warhol paintings for sale on eBay. These paintings were part of Warhol’s "Shadows" series, which consists of untitled, abstract canvas paintings from 1978. The original listing price for the paintings was $100,000.
In the eBay listing, Walshe, posing as the seller, included a photograph of an invoice for the two Warhol Shadow paintings, which displayed Warhol Foundation numbers and indicated a purchase price of $240,000.
The purchaser, believing the paintings to be genuine, negotiated with Walshe from November 3 to 5, 2016, to buy the artwork outside of eBay for $80,000. They signed a contract stipulating a three-day period for the buyer to rescind the agreement and receive a full refund if dissatisfied with the artwork.
On November 7, 2016, the buyer's assistant traveled to Boston to collect the paintings, giving Walshe an $80,000 cashier's check. Walshe deposited the check into his account and withdrew $33,400 within the next two weeks.
Upon removing the paintings' frames on November 8, 2016, the buyer discovered no Warhol Foundation authentication stamps, and noticed that the canvasses and staples appeared new. Upon comparing the paintings to the eBay listing's photographs, they found discrepancies and concluded that the purchased paintings were not authentic. The buyer attempted to contact Walshe, who initially did not respond and later provided excuses for the delay in refunding the buyer's money.
Walshe initially acquired the paintings from a friend, the victim, while visiting the victim in South Korea. During the visit, Walshe suggested that he could sell some of the art for a good price, which the victim agreed to. The victim allowed Walshe to take the two Shadow paintings and other fine art pieces. An investigation later revealed that Walshe sold the original Shadow paintings to a gallery in 2011, after which they changed hands multiple times before being sold to buyers outside the country. The original Shadow paintings have not been recovered by the government.
Furthermore, the investigation found that in 2011, Walshe obtained a different set of replica Shadow paintings from an artist unaware of Walshe's intentions. In 2015, Walshe sold this set to another victim residing in France.
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