Three art dealers 'made and sold fake Damien Hirst prints defrauding buyers around the world out of $400,000' by selling some of the pieces on eBay Vincent Lopreto, 52, Marco Saverino, 34, and Paul Motta, 50 were indicted in a New York City court for allegedly making and selling fake Damien Hirst prints They allegedly peddled the fake art to dozens of buyers around the world Authorities said they raked in $400,000 from selling the phony Hirst prints They have been charged with third and fourth degree grand larceny, as well as first degree scheme to defraud, among other charges Lopreto previously pleaded guilty to first degree identity theft and a scheme to defraud in 2014 and was sentenced to state prison
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Vincent Lopreto, 52, of New Orleans, Louisiana was indicted in a New York City court on Monday. He is charged with grand larceny and scheme to defraud for his part in forging Damien Hirst prints and selling them to unsuspecting buyers, cheating them of $400,000
Fake: Lopreto is accused of using a stamp, printer and other tools to create fakes of Hirst's works — including this phony print of Hirst's 'Esculetin' — which were then sold as limited editions
The real deal: Vincent Lopreto, 52, Marco Saverino, 34, and Paul Motta, 50 are accused of tricking unsuspecting art buyers from around the world into thinking they were buying genuine editions of Damien Hirst's famed 'Spot Paintings,' similar to this real work, entitled 'Adenosine'
Lopreto previously pleaded guilty to forging and selling Damien Hirst (pictured) prints in 2014. He was sentenced to two to four years in prison. Fifteen days after being released, he was indicted in a New York City court for participating in the same art faking and selling scheme
Mena: I am sorry I dont consider Damien Hirst color dots paintings that a ten years old child can create to be a work of art. Even me with my untalented heavy hands can reproduce those dots and spots paintings. When any artist creation is being classify as art you cheapen or devalue the word art. In my opinion in order for a painting to be classify as art it most be beautiful, inspiring, sometime mystical and difficult to reproduce.
Renaissance realist artists created portraits of ancient people that is so realistic that you think it is a photography of that person. Few painters have the skill to create and reproduce those realistic portraits. There are other style in paintings like impressionism and cubism that are not very beautiful but are inspiring and difficult to reproduce. I think painters like Titian, Cezanne and Picasso are turning in their tombs when they learned that Damian Hirst spot paintings was classified as art.
I think those three fraudsters are wrong for forging Damian Hirst dots paintings and fraudulently sold them to gullible buyers who have poor taste in art. I think those three fraudsters should go to prison or pay a heavy fine.
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