Art dealer sentenced to more than two years for fake Andy Warhol paintings | Art

A south Florida art dealer was sentenced on Tuesday to two years and three months in federal prison in connection with a scheme involving the sale of fake Andy Warhol paintings.

Daniel Elie Bouaziz, 69, was sentenced in Fort Pierce federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in February to a single count of money laundering, while prosecutors agreed to drop 16 other counts related to fraud and embezzlement. Bouaziz was fined $15,000, and a restitution hearing is scheduled for 16 August.

Prosecutors said Bouaziz, the owner of Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli in Palm Beach county, sold counterfeit artworks to a customer in October 2021 including pieces purportedly by Warhol. He also sold fake paintings by Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and Henri Matisse.

Bouaziz told the customer that the pieces, which he was selling for between $75,000 and $240,000, were authentic originals and that some were signed by the artists themselves, investigators said.

Officials said the customer gave Bouaziz a $200,000 down payment that was deposited into Bouaziz’s account, and then the comingled funds were wired to other accounts.

The pieces were reproductions purchased in online auctions.

The judge was asked for a “reasonable” sentence given Bouaziz’s age and poor health.

“While Bouaziz may [have] been generous to some, as countless people claim in their letters of support to this court, he was defrauding others,” assistant US attorney Sarah Schall said. “Bouaziz won people over with his philanthropy, high-end vehicles, ties to the local synagogue, invitations to lunch, history as an opera singer, art events and more.”