2oceansvibe News | South African and international news

Sponsored by RSAWeb rss
2ov Radio
  • Home
  • About
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Seth Rotherham
  • du Cap Collection
  • Café du Cap
  • Cabine du Cap
  • Media Packs / Advertising
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Anonymous Tips
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
Seth Rotherham
  • The Rise And Fall Of One Of The Art World’s Greatest Swindlers

    26 May 2022 by Tayla in Art, Crime, Lifestyle, World
    Related Posts
    • Idiot Wrecks Priceless Museum Artefacts After Woman Problems
    • Man Disguised As Old Lady Throws Cake At Mona Lisa [Video]
    • There's A Wordle Spinoff For Art Lovers Now
    • Friday Morning Spice
    • Corrupt SA Clergyman Steals Identity Of Dead Rival Pastor After Faking Wife's Death

    [imagesource: Patrick McMullan]

    We’ve all become rather accustomed to the classic rise and fall cautionary tale of “serial swindlers” who eventually get taken down by their own greed.

    Beginning with America’s most notorious conman, Bernie Madoff, and bookmarked (because these Ponzi schemes will never truly end) with the art industry’s worst, 34-year-old British-born dealer, Inigo Philbrick.

    We heard about the so-called “boy wizard of the art world” in 2020 when he had been arrested in designer swimming trunks that he swapped out for secondhand trousers as he was due to appear in court.

    Well, the disgraced Justin Timberlake lookalike has now been sentenced to seven years in US prison (he is a US citizen) after pleading guilty to an $86 million wire fraud in November.

    He has also been ordered to cough up a “forfeiture of $86 672 790” – the amount that he had fraudulently obtained through his various schemes.

    His charms and talent were overshadowed by what one of his victims, Kenny Schachter, described as “a toxic mix of arrogance and alcohol”.

    Schachter, an American artist, academic and writer, lost more than $1,5m to Philbrick, The Guardian reported:

    “He misappropriated my funds, my art, like he did with many people,” he says.

    What makes it all the more painful is that they were once friends, close enough to have holidayed together, and he remembers Philbrick as a “very talented art dealer” who was “sharp, fun and funny”.

    There were also drugs involved, which began when Philbrick was at school and “intensified as he entered London’s art world”, according to Philbrick’s lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman.

    He added that this was “how art deals are done”.

    Image: Patrick McMullan / Getty

    At least Philbrick was honest when Judge Stein asked him why he committed the crime, answering that it was all “for the money, your honour”:

    The suave American dealer, with a gallery at an exclusive London address, a Midas touch that brought soaring profits in art sales and a socialite girlfriend from Made in Chelsea, had in fact been running a fraudulent business.

    …His was a smoke-and-mirrors trade that involved selling a total of more than 100% of an artwork to multiple investors without their knowledge, using works as collateral on loans without informing their co-owners, and falsifying documents to inflate artwork values, with one contract listing a stolen identity as the seller, according to the US Department of Justice.

    It is believed that this fraudulent scheme operated between 2016 and 2019, and included Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 painting Humidity and Rudolf Stingel’s 2012 photorealist-style portrait of artist Pablo Picasso.

    Philbrick’s crimes funded his life of luxury, where he was able to travel on private planes and drink the finest wines at £5 000 a bottle.

    But finally, the law caught up with him after a lender officially notified Philbrick that he was in default of a $14 million loan.

    At that stage, various victims who weren’t seeing a single return on their investments had also filed civil lawsuits. Philbrick’s subsequent escape to a remote Pacific island didn’t do him any favours and he was arrested.

    One does not play games with other people’s money for very long.

    [source:guardian]

    • ← Paste Picks The Best Shows On TV Right Now [Trailers]
    • Taxpayers Leaving SA Are Getting Hit With SARS Rejection Letters →
    • Tweet
    • Tags:
    • art
    • art dealer
    • art fraud
    • Fraud
    • Inigo Philbrick
    • swindler

    Latest News

    • Let’s See What R17m Gets You In Langebaan These Days [Video]

      [imagesource: Property24] If you haven't been to Langebaan and dragged your name throug...

    • Learning Disability Week Seeks To Shine A Light On Challenges The Differently-Abled Face

      This year, Learning Disability Week will run from June 20 to June 26 with the focus being ...

    • It’s Getting Ugly In Mozambique As Beheadings Resume

      [imagesource:here] The atrocities that took place in Mozambique last year are still fre...

    • This Guy Is Now Officially The Most-Followed Person On TikTok [Videos]

      [imagesource: Getty] American TikTok star Charli D’Amelio used to have the most follo...

    • Freak New Zealand Wicket Must Be Seen To Be Believed [Video]

      [imagesource:here] Ben Stokes' reign as permanent England test captain is off to a winn...


    • 2oceansvibe Partners

    • CONTACT US
    • GOT A HOT STORY?
    • 2oceansvibe Radio
    • 2oceansvibe Media
    • Media Pack
    • Seth Rotherham
    • Café du Cap
    • Cabine du Cap
    • Cape Town City Accommodation
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Business
    • Media
    • Entertainment
    • Tech/Sci
    • World
    • Travel
    • Lifestyle
    • Sport
    • Politics
  • Follow

    2oceansvibe.com is part of the 2oceansVibe Media Group

    DMMA Logo