Palm Beach art dealer pleads guilty to money laundering in Warhol fraud scheme
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Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz pleaded guilty Tuesday to laundering money derived from his scheme to sell counterfeit artwork, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida announced in a release.
Bouaziz owns Danieli Fine Art at 226A Worth Ave. and Galerie Danieli at 230 Worth Ave.
In his plea, Bouaziz said he knowingly engaged in and attempted to engage in a transaction through a financial institution affecting interstate commerce of over $10,000 in money derived from the unlawful sale of counterfeit art in violation of the wire fraud statute, the release said.
Specifically, on or about Oct. 25, 2021, the release said, Bouaziz sold counterfeit artwork to a customer, including pieces purportedly by artist Andy Warhol. Bouaziz reportedly told the customer that the works that he was selling, for between $75,000 and $240,000, were authentic Warhol pieces, and that some were signed by the artist.
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Relying upon these false and fraudulent representations, the customer purchased artwork from Bouaziz and gave him a down payment of $200,000, the U.S. Attorney's office said, and the money was deposited into Bouaziz’s account and then the comingled funds were wired to other accounts, including an account controlled by Bouaziz.
Bouaziz, whose Worth Avenue galleries were raided by federal agents in December 2021, was indicted on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to sell forged high-end artwork in July.
The indictment said Bouaziz engaged in a scheme to sell paintings and other artwork that he falsely marketed for sale as original or authentic pieces by prominent artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Banksy and Roy Lichtenstein.
Bouaziz purchased and acquired pieces at low prices from various sources, including online auction sites, and falsely sold them as originals at drastically increased prices, according to the indictment.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 30 before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon in Fort Pierce.
If you believe you have been a victim of art fraud, contact the FBI’s Art Crime Team at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Carol Rose is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at crose@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach art dealer pleads guilty in Andy Warhol art fraud scheme
