A man, who seems to be himself a victim of fraud, was convicted of selling fake Hirst Spot prints on Ebay where he bought them. The Wall Street Journal has the story:
Richard Silver, 50 years old, bought the trademark dot pattern prints on eBay in 2006. He maintains he didn’t know they were fakes when he subsequently resold them on the same auction website to six people in Britain, Canada and the U.S. for about $84,000.
But, for “expediency purposes,” Mr. Silver forged letters bearing the name of Hamburg Kennedy Photographs, a Manhattan art advisory firm, appraising the works, said his attorney Vinoo Varghese. “He didn’t inflate the value,” Mr. Varghese said after a court hearing Thursday.
A law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case said it is unclear if Mr. Silver knew the prints—reproductions of the works “LSD,” “Opium” and “Valium”—were fake. They came with purported certificates of authenticity when he bought them on eBay. Mr. Silver is a licensed real-estate broker who collects art and sells his own original photography as a hobby, his attorney said. […]
On Thursday, Mr. Silver, of Manhattan, turned himself in and pleaded guilty to forgery in the third degree and offering a false instrument in the second degree—both misdemeanors. The charges were part of a plea agreement with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Guilty Plea in Hirst Fakes (Wall Street Journal)
