Forgery proceedings
Carter Reese sentenced in counterfeit art scheme
Reese received imprisonment, supervision and restitution after admitting sales of works he knew were falsely attributed to artists including Bacon, Basquiat, Picasso and Warhol.
Documented dossier
Jean-Michel Basquiat
This dossier focuses on authenticity and criminal proceedings involving works presented as Basquiat’s, including the Orlando museum case. Plea agreements, probation and prison sentences are reported as distinct outcomes. Association with the artist’s name does not authenticate any object described in these cases.
8 reports · Source dates: 1 Mar 2008 — 12 Sept 2025
Forgery proceedings 5Legal disputes 3
Each entry reflects its source on the stated date. A historical theft report does not mean a work remains missing. Attributions, allegations and decisions remain distinct; this dossier does not authenticate artworks.
Reports and developments
Newest source reports first
Forgery proceedings
Basquiat case update: community service and probation for Barzman
Following his plea, Michael Barzman received three years’ probation, 500 hours of community service and a fine. This updates the April 2023 proceedings.
Forgery proceedings
Plea agreement in Orlando fake Basquiat case
Michael Barzman agreed to plead guilty to lying to the FBI and admitted in court papers to creating fake works and inventing provenance. The works were seized in Orlando in 2022.
Legal disputes
Inigo Philbrick sentenced to seven years in art-finance fraud
Federal prosecutors announced an eighty-four-month sentence in a fraud involving more than $86 million. The case concerned false ownership and financing representations involving artworks by Basquiat, Wool and Stingel, not forged paintings.
Forgery proceedings
Angel Pereda charged over purported Basquiat and Haring forgeries
Federal prosecutors announced Pereda’s arrest over alleged offers of forged artworks and false provenance records. This July 2021 release records accusations, not a conviction; it includes photographs of the disputed objects.
Forgery proceedings
Five-year sentence in Haring and Basquiat forgery scheme
Philip Righter received five years in prison after guilty pleas in fraud cases. His scheme used forged authenticity documents to market counterfeit works.
Legal disputes
Christie’s sues over alleged unpaid balance on Basquiat painting
Christie’s sought $32.1 million from José Mugrabi and Jombihis Corporation, alleging the outstanding balance had not been paid on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s The Field Next to the Other Road. Mugrabi disputed the account.
Legal disputes
Christie’s contests a lawsuit over a disputed Basquiat
The Tony Shafrazi Gallery and collector Guido Orsi sued over the 1990 auction of Untitled (1982), attributed to Jean-Michel Basquiat. The artist’s estate authentication committee later rejected the attribution. Christie’s disputed liability and argued the claims fell outside the terms and timing of its warranty. Image: Christie’s New York saleroom, via Wikimedia Commons.