Brian Walshe, man accused of killing wife in Cohasset, sentenced in federal art fraud case

Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of killing his wife, dismembering her body with a hacksaw and then discarding her remains at trash transfer stations across the region, was sentenced to prison Tuesday in his federal art fraud case.

Walshe, 48, previously pleaded guilty in 2021 to selling two counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings in an international art fraud scheme.

A judge in federal court in Boston sentenced Walshe to 37 months behind bars. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office had asked for a three-year prison sentence.

In a separate case, investigators say Walshe killed his wife, Ana Walshe, last year. The 39-year-old mother-of-three, a real estate professional who worked in Washington D.C., went missing on New Year’s Day 2023, authorities said. Her body has never been found.

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“These crimes were dangerous, bold, and harmful, both to the victims and the public as a whole,” prosecutors said in recent court filings. “A sentence of imprisonment is necessary to punish the defendant for his crimes and to deter others from engaging in art fraud, an especially difficult crime to detect, investigate and prosecute.”

Walshe was charged with wire fraud, interstate transportation for scheme to defraud, and money laundering, in connection with a scheme to sell counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings.

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In nearly 175 pages of filings in the art fraud case, prosecutors said Walshe “orchestrated a scheme” that encompassed “repeated falsehoods.”

“It remains even more fitting now that it has become clear that the defendant engaged in obstruction of justice after pleading guilty,” prosecutors said in court filings. “Accordingly, the government requests that the Court sentence the defendant principally to 37 months in prison, at the low end of the Guidelines with the obstruction enhancement.”

“The defendant orchestrated a scheme of many years, encompassing repeated falsehoods and financial complexity,” prosecutors said. “The defendant did not commit these crimes by mistake or one-time error: he obtained paintings from a person who thought he was the defendant’s friend; he manipulated the services of artists; he lied to potential buyers, obtaining their money by fraud; and he laundered the money afterwards. In his wake, he left a disappointed friend (Victim 2); a frustrated and harmed collector (Victim 1); and another buyer whose relationship with his own father was destroyed (Victim 3).”

In a sentencing memorandum, the government wrote: “These crimes were dangerous, bold, and harmful, both to the victims and the public as a whole. A sentence of imprisonment is necessary to punish the defendant for his crimes and to deter others from engaging in art fraud…”

Brian Walshe was also ordered to pay $475,000 in restitution to his three victims and has already paid $95,000 towards that.

Walshe’s mother, Diana Walshe, appeared at the federal courthouse in Boston.

She left without speaking to reporters.

Walshe is due back in court in his murder case at a later date.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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