Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau
I can’t do this justice by merely excerpting it.
You’ll just have to read it for yourself, but make sure you’re sitting down. It’s the press release from Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau describing in hair-raising detail the substance of the 100-count indictment just handed down against bankrupt dealer Larry Salander, who was arrested at his home this morning.
Okay, just one excerpt:
The fraud in each investment opportunity occurred when Salander did not
own the work of art he offered for investment in whole or in part, or
he misrepresented the actual terms of the investment. The
misrepresented terms included: inflation of the purported cost (cost
fraud), the sale of greater than 100 percent interest in a single work
(oversale), the fabrication of the existence of the pre-sale (ghost
investment), failure to pay the return when the money came in on the
purported investment, or the misrepresentation of the amount payable to
the investor (fraudulent retention).
The press release outlines some of the specific deals and identifies some of the alleged victims, including estates of major American artists.
Is Larry the artworld’s Bernie?