Carter Reese, a 77-year-old resident of Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court for his role in an art fraud scheme. United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl imposed a sentence of 60 days in prison, followed by two years of supervised release that includes four months of home detention. Reese was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and restitution totaling $186,125.
According to information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Reese pleaded guilty in May to one count each of wire fraud and mail fraud. Prosecutors stated that between February 2019 and March 2021, Reese sold and attempted to sell artworks he falsely claimed were created by well-known artists such as Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jean Cocteau, Keith Haring, Fernand Léger, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, among others. In reality, the works were not made by these artists.
United States Attorney David Metcalf commented on the case: “Reese defrauded customers by making false representations about the source and authenticity of certain art purportedly created by prominent artists.”
The FBI’s Art Crime Team from both the Philadelphia and Miami field offices investigated the matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Ruth Mandelbaum and Jason Grenell prosecuted the case.
