Art Dealer Arrested for Selling Modernist Forgeries

Giuseppe Concepcion, a prominent New York and Miami art dealer, has been arrested on charges of selling forged paintings bearing the names of artists including Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Tom Wesselmann. Concepcion was arrested in Miami on Friday on wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property charges brought in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Prosecutors said Concepcion induced customers to buy the forgeries between 2005 and 2007 as he operated in Manhattan and out of the Proarte Gallery in Miami. But Concepcion’s lawyer said the dealer was a law-abiding, dedicated art enthusiast who had not committed any crime.

A criminal complaint unsealed Friday said Concepcion acquired authentic works by the renowned artists and then acquired or commissioned forgeries of the paintings. Concepcion falsely represented to buyers that the forged versions were genuine or deliberately failed to disclose that they were forgeries, the complaint said.

More from the CBC here.