A Seattle man named Michael Little is facing 15 months in prison for selling $128,000 worth of fake Dale Chihuly works online:
Buying generic glass art online and in person, Little then etched Chihuly’s signature into the pieces. He faked supporting documents and concocted stories to explain how he’d come into a surplus of glass art; Little told at least one buyer a relative bought the art after hitting the lottery.
Little also posed as an art appraiser and authenticated his own bogus pieces, as well as faking “certificates of purchase” from a reputable Seattle gallery. One buyer, who paid $35,000 for 100 pieces, was prepared to donate the works to a Gonzaga University art museum.
Dealer of Chihuly fakes facing prison (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
