New Jersey Father and Daughter Admit to Selling Forged Artworks Worth $2 Million
A father and daughter from New Jersey have pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a scheme that involved the sale of over 200 forged artworks. These artworks were falsely attributed to renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Banksy, and Pablo Picasso. The duo, Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska, operated this scheme between 2020 and 2025, selling the forgeries to auction houses and galleries across the United States. They managed to earn approximately $2 million from these sales. The forgeries were created by an artist in Poland, and the pair went to great lengths to falsify the provenance of the artworks, including forging certificates of authenticity. The scheme also involved the misrepresentation of Native American-produced goods, which led to additional federal charges. 
