LOS ANGELES, CA — A one-time auctioneer, Michael Barzman, has agreed to plead guilty to making false statements to FBI agents regarding the origins of paintings attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The artworks were seized in 2022 from the Orlando Museum of Art after it was discovered that they were fakes.
Barzman, 45, of North Hollywood, admitted in court papers filed on Monday that he and another individual, referred to as “J.F.” in the documents, created the fake art and falsely attested to the paintings’ origins.
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Barzman has been charged with making false statements to the FBI during an interview in August 2022 and is expected to surrender to federal authorities for a court appearance that has not yet been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, Barzman and J.F. created approximately 20-30 artworks by using various art materials to create colorful images on cardboard.
Read: Orlando Museum of Art parts ways with CEO following raid of Basquiat exhibit
J.F. spent a maximum of 30 minutes on each image and as little as five minutes on others, and then gave them to Barzman to sell on eBay. Barzman and J.F. agreed to split the money that they made from selling the fraudulent paintings.
Barzman further admitted that he attempted to create a false source for the purported Basquiats by claiming in a notarized document that the fraudulent paintings were found inside a storage unit that a well-known screenwriter had rented.
Read: Man agrees to plead guilty in Basquiat artwork fraud scheme
The bogus art was sold and made its way through the art market, forming the basis of an exhibition that opened in February 2022 at the Orlando Museum of Art. Most of the featured works had, in fact, been created by Barzman and J.F.
The FBI executed a search warrant at the Orlando Museum of Art in June 2022 and seized 25 pieces that Basquiat purportedly had created. During an August 18, 2022, interview with special agents of the FBI, Barzman denied making the paintings himself, knowing that those statements were false.
Check out the original exhibit here:
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