Police Arrest Two 20-Year-Olds for Allegedly Conning Collectors Out of $1 Million

NFTs

Police Arrest Two 20-Year-Olds for Allegedly Conning Collectors Out of $1 Million—With Ice Cream-Themed NFT Artworks

The pair sold NFTs for 8,888 ice cream scoop characters called Frosties—and then disappeared.

By Sarah Cascone, Mar 28, 2022

Law & Politics

U.S. Authorities Have Indicted a Superblue Sales Director as an Alleged Conspirator of Disgraced Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick

Just weeks before Inigo Phibrick is set to appear in court for sentencing, a new indictment has been made in the art fraud case.

By Eileen Kinsella, Mar 2, 2022

Law & Politics

The U.S. Treasury Department Has Issued a Closely Watched Report on Money Laundering. The Upshot: Nothing to See Here, Folks

The U.S. government is taking a risk-based "wait and see" approach to the art market.

By Eileen Kinsella, Feb 7, 2022

NFTs

‘All My Apes Gone’: An Art Dealer’s Despondent Tweet About the Theft of His NFTs Went Viral… and Has Now Become an NFT

The stolen trove was worth an estimated $2.2 million. The NFT of the tweet is going for a lot less.

By Eileen Kinsella, Jan 5, 2022

Politics

Former U.K. Culture Minister Says the Parthenon Marbles Should Be Returned to Greece: ‘It Would Be a Wonderful Thing’

Ed Vaizey says the marbles are inextricably woven into Greek culture and identity.

By Sarah Cascone, Dec 22, 2021

Law & Politics

FBI Agents Descend on Palm Beach’s Upscale Worth Avenue in a Late-Morning Raid of the Gallery Danieli Fine Art

Art dealers and other business owners watched with interest as FBI and IRS agents papered over the gallery windows.

By Eileen Kinsella & Katya Kazakina, Dec 15, 2021

Law & Politics

Jailed Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Has Pleaded Guilty to Fraud and Will Turn Over More Than $86 Million in Funds Linked to His Crimes

Philbrick also faces up to 20 years in prison.

By Eileen Kinsella, Nov 18, 2021

Crime

In a Shift, Notorious Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Set to Plead Guilty to Criminal Charges in Federal Court This Week

It remains to be seen what type of prison sentence is handed down.

By Eileen Kinsella, Nov 1, 2021

Law & Politics

Will Disgraced Art Dealer Inigo Philbrick Avoid Trial After All? Court Papers Suggest He Could Be in Settlement Talks With U.S. Authorities

After initially pleading not guilty, Philbrick may now be trying to strike a deal.

By Eileen Kinsella, Oct 12, 2021

Auctions

Restituted Meissen Porcelains Shatter Estimates at Sotheby’s—and One of the Big Buyers Was the Museum That Returned Them

The auction of Meissen objects restituted by the Rijksmuseum brought in $15 million, seven times the presale estimate.

By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 14, 2021

Art World

The Philadelphia Museum of Art Will Return an Ancient ‘Pageant Shield’ Looted by Nazis to the Czech Republic

Czech ambassador calls the case a prime example of "best practices" in restitution.

By Eileen Kinsella, Sep 14, 2021

Crime

New York Dealer Gets Busted for Selling Hundreds of Brazenly Fake ‘Cookie-Cutter’ Antiquities, Says Manhattan D.A.

Authorities have been homing in on looted artifacts. Then they got a tip about fake ones.

By Eileen Kinsella, Aug 26, 2021

Crime

Disgraced Former Art Dealer Angela Gulbenkian Has Been Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Fraudulently Selling a Kusama Work

The socialite sold a $1.4 million Kusama sculpture that she never delivered.

By Taylor Dafoe, Jul 29, 2021

Politics

Belgium Will Seek a Partnership With the Democratic Republic of Congo to Begin Returning Plundered Artworks

"They don't belong to us," a Belgian official said in reference to the objects.

By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 22, 2021

Law & Politics

The Manhattan District Attorney Has Returned 27 Looted Antiquities Worth a Combined $3.8 Million to Cambodia

The return involved objects linked to investigations of disgraced dealers Subhash Kapoor and Nancy Wiener.

By Eileen Kinsella, Jun 11, 2021