Indigenous art forgery ring smashed in Canada
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Loading... - Sofia Castro
- 20 Mar 2023
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Canadian police said Friday they had dismantled a decades-old forgery ring that produced and sold possibly thousands of fakes of Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau's paintings around the world.
Eight people including a nephew of Morrisseau were arrested this week and face a total of 40 charges including forgery of artworks and of paperwork that purported to authenticate them.
"Over 1,000 allegedly fraudulent paintings have been seized. The total number produced and sold is unknown," Ontario Provincial Police Deputy Commissioner Kari Dart told a news conference.
Some of the paintings sold for tens of thousands of dollars to unsuspecting buyers across Canada and internationally.
Detective Kevin Veilleux said the forgery ring began in 1996 with a single individual, David Voss, 51, allegedly making counterfeit paintings himself "before growing his organization into a full assembly line of painters." Read More..
