The owner of an art gallery in Madison has been arrested, accused of selling fake Picassos and charged with mail fraud and wire fraud.
David Crespo, of Guilford, was arrested on Tuesday, accused of selling fraudulent artwork from 2005 to February 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The arrest comes almost a year and a half after the FBI raided his gallery, Brandon Gallery, as part of an art fraud investigation and removed cardboard cartons.
Among the items that were for sale in his galley was a painting marked as an original Picasso, on sale for $750,000, according to reports at the time. The gallery closed in May.
Crespo operated under the name Metropolitan Art Auctions/Portfolio Reflections of the Masters, in addition to Brandon Gallery, and made sales on eBay, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the affidavit, Crespo paid Miami-based eBay seller Collectart4less less than $50,000 for 21 pieces of purported original Picasso artwork from the "Arruza Collection" and learned from Sotheby's that the works of art were actually reproductions on printed paper.
When Crespo reached out to the seller, who is referred to only as "HP," the man said the works were originals but he could not certify them.
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He was not a noted expert, researcher or appraiser and did not have a degree, federal officials said, yet Crespo sold the pieces for tens of thousands of dollars and provided certificates of evaluation saying that the Miami seller was an expert, federal officials said.
Federal officials worked with an art expert and consultant to the Picasso family who told federal officials that the works were not genuine and had "nominal" value.
Among the works federal officials said Crespo sold are a "La Tauromaqura" and "Opium Smoker" for $33.750, "Spirit of the Bullfight" for $10,750, The Studio of "La Californie"for "$35,000, but he valued them at much higher rates for insurance purposes.
Crespo is also accused of soliciting almost $80,000 from an investor who believed the artwork was authentic and worth about $1.3 million.
Philip Coffaro, a Long Island art gallery owner and former associate of Crespo, accused the local gallery owner of dishonest dealings in a 2008 lawsuit over ownership of a Salvador Dali painting, the Associated Press reports.
Coffaro told the AP he was interviewed by FBI agents who showed him fraudulent certificates that Crespo had apparently used to overstate the value of signed Marc Chagall prints.
Madison residents familiar with the gallery said at the time of the raid that it has been a legitimate business, with low-end jewelry and clothing plus sports memorabilia for sale on the first floor, and prints available upstairs.
Soon after the raid, the New Haven Register reported that Crespo was mentioned in "The Great Dali Art Fraud," and identified as an informant in a U.S. Postal Service investigation.
Crespo appeared in court in Bridgeport and posted $50,000 bond.
If Crespo is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and could be fined $250,000.
