Father and Daughter Plead Guilty to Art Forgery Scheme in NYC
A father and daughter duo, Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska, have pleaded guilty to defrauding art buyers in New York City by selling counterfeit artworks. The pair, Polish citizens residing in New Jersey, were involved in a scheme that involved creating and selling fake artworks purportedly by renowned artists such as Banksy and Andy Warhol. The counterfeits were crafted in Poland by an unnamed co-conspirator and sold to unsuspecting buyers, including prominent auction houses, for a total of at least $2 million. The most lucrative fake, attributed to artist Richard Mayhew, was sold for $160,000. The duo faces charges of wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresenting Native American-produced goods, with potential prison sentences exceeding three years, along with $1.9 million in restitution and possible deportation. 
