An interesting story from the Chicago Tribune; unfortunately, no details present as to the nature of the fraud (full story here). Obviously, there are some significant parallels between the original prop hobby and the art world, in terms of inauthentic pieces being sold as authentic, so I think it is important to follow some of these newsworthy developments as a point of reference. Having said that, as noted, there are no details present in the story as to the nature of the fraud, so it could be unrelated to issues of authenticity. However, involvement of U.S. postal inspectors would lead one to believe it could have to do with actual transactions with customers. I would imagine that one possible reason to remove actual works would be for off-site analysis. [Read more…]

A very interesting article was posted today at the Saint Petersburg Times website which is directly relevant to the original prop collecting hobby.

Per the report, citing Tampa and New Jersey police, a man was suspected of selling fraudulent art on eBay. One of the Tampa police detectives posed as a customer and won two auctions on eBay, paid the seller, and received the artwork, described as original and authentic works by Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall, for $3,500.

The works were received, along with fraudulent certificates of authenticity.

Following an assessment from a local appraiser that the pieces were not authentic, a warrant was issued and the eBay seller, Ethem Ulge, “turned himself in to a Hillsborough County jail on felony charges, including grand theft in the third degree, organized fraud less than $20,000 and fraudulent use of personal information.” [Read more…]