Wire fraud, WhatsApp, and…Basquiat? Those are three terms you don’t often hear in a single sentence. And yet, a recent accusation of a major art crime along with an FBI bust requires just that. As outlets such as The New York Times have reported, a 49-year-old man by the name of Angel Pereda has been arrested after allegedly trying to sell fake artwork by Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“If real, such works would be worth millions,” Manhattan U.S. attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement issued by the Department of Justice for the Southern District of New York. “The alleged fakes have little or no value, except potentially as evidence of the alleged crime,” she added. “Angel Pereda now faces the prospect of a jury’s appraisal of his alleged conduct.”
FBI assistant director William F. Sweeney Jr. explained the case further, noting: “Mr. Pereda conned art buyers, hoping his victims wouldn’t see the difference between real art and a forgery. He used their trust to his advantage by passing off worthless pieces as priceless works of art.” The alleged forgeries included an invented Basquiat painting, according to the DOJ statement, which Pereda titled Glory Boys Kingdom, and a vase that he referred to as a Keith Haring original, as reported by the Times.
In order to apprehend Pereda, the FBI enacted a complex sting operation. ArtNet News reported specifics of the digital effort: “Acting at the instruction of law enforcement, the seller told Pereda that if he could provide new provenance papers, they would be able to sell the painting for over $6 million. Pereda then sent a falsified document for the painting to the seller on WhatsApp.”
Pereda now faces one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. “Hopefully, this case provides a lesson to any others hoping to engage in similar behavior,” Sweeney said in the DOJ statement. “The FBI’s Art Crime Team has the resources to distinguish the real from the fake, and its members will ensure you face the consequences of your actions.”