California Man Sentenced To Five Years In $6 Million Modern Art Fraud Case

A Southern California man was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with a $6 million modern art fraud scheme, the United States attorney’s office said.

Philip Righter, 43, was accused of attempting to sell $6 million worth of paintings that he falsely claimed to be the creations of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and other famous painters. Righter was sentenced in a federal court in Miami after pleading guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and tax fraud, Associated Press reported, citing the attorney’s office.

He reportedly came under police scrutiny in 2016 in Los Angeles for offering a fraudulent Keith Haring painting to a Miami gallery. He, however, continued marketing fakes, assuming different aliases and forging documents to prove the artworks were genuine.

According to his guilty plea, Righter acknowledged using fake paintings as collaterals for loans that he never repaid, while also admitting he used some bogus paintings for income tax write-offs. The plea agreement stated Righter cost his victims well over $758,000, with the U.S. suffering $100,000 in total losses due to his fraudulent tax returns.

Righter was also given 60 months in prison in a 2019 case filed in Florida for trying to defraud the owner of a Miami art gallery. He is to serve both the sentences concurrently.

According to his indictment filed in Florida, Righter allegedly bought the artworks from online marketplaces like eBay before creating fraudulent documents. He stamped the papers with fake embossers similar to those used by legitimate representatives of the artists’ estates to make them appear authentic.

In a similar case, the FBI had arrested a Queens art gallery owner, Brian Ramnarine, in 2012 for trying to sell a $11m fake Jasper Johns bronze sculpture. FBI said Johns had given him a mold of his 1960 sculpture, “Flag,” to create a wax mold.

Although the wax version was handed to Johns, Ramnarine never returned the original mold. About 20 years later, he created a sculpture using the same mold naming it “1989 Bronze Flag,” which he tried to market claiming it was an authentic Jasper Johns one. Not only did he try to auction the artwork, he also forged John’s signature on it to make it appear authentic. Ramnarine was sentenced to five years of probation along with $100,000 in restitution.