New Jersey Duo Pleads Guilty to Selling Forged Artworks Worth $2 Million
A father and daughter from New Jersey, Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska, have pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a large-scale art forgery scheme. Between 2020 and 2025, they sold over 200 counterfeit artworks falsely attributed to renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Banksy, and Pablo Picasso. The duo commissioned an artist in Poland to create these forgeries, which they then sold to auction houses and galleries across the United States, amassing approximately $2 million. They went to great lengths to falsify the provenance of these artworks, including forging certificates of authenticity. The scheme also involved the misrepresentation of Native American-produced goods, leading to additional federal charges. 
