The Bad PlaceThe Guardian | Fraudster trying to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s foiled over bogus invoices by Nadeem Badshah
AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.
A court in Southwark heard how 46‑year‑old Andrew Crowley of Longwell Green tried to sell three Cycladic statues and an Anatolian stargazer he claimed to have inherited from his grandfather, presenting forged invoices that appeared to date from 1976 but were actually printed with techniques invented in 2001. Experts at Sotheby’s spotted the forgeries, and forensic analysis confirmed the modern printing methods, leading the judge to halve the estimated value from £680,000 to £340,000 and hand Crowley a two‑year suspended sentence, 200 hours of unpaid work and £1,630 in costs, noting that his dishonesty lay in the paperwork rather than the statues themselves.
#AndrewCrowley #Sothebys #MetropolitanPolice #crime #statues
Michael Frasca