""For years, these defendants painted themselves as purveyors of fine art while selling lies on canvas to unsuspecting collectors. Today's convictions strip away the varnish and reveal the fraud underneath.""
""The defendants fabricated the paintings' provenance by forging stamps and claiming the paintings were owned by defunct art galleries, making it difficult for potential buyers to verify them.""
""To make the stamps appear more convincing, the defendants printed them on aged paper from antique books, and around 2021, the duo commissioned an artist in Poland to make the fake paintings with false signatures.""
Karolina Bankowska and Erwin Bankowski sold counterfeit art worth millions, forging the provenance of pieces attributed to renowned artists. They created fake stamps and claimed ownership by defunct galleries to mislead buyers. Their scheme began to unravel in March 2023 when a representative of artist Raimonds Staprans identified a counterfeit painting. Despite this, a fake painting sold for $60,000 shortly after. The duo's fraudulent activities spanned from 2020 to 2025, involving commissioned forgeries and deceptive practices.
Read at SFGATE
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