Art dealer Inigo Philbrick receives seven-year prison term for $86 million fraud scheme

Inigo Philbrick, a 34-year-old art dealer from the U.S., has been sentenced to seven years in prison for wire fraud and identity theft. Last November, he confessed to misleading investors and dealers out of millions through intricate schemes involving valuable contemporary art. His fraudulent actions included selling fractional shares of artworks without disclosing ownership, forging documents, and inventing a fake art collector. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams described his operations as "built on brazen lies" that eventually collapsed. Philbrick was arrested in Vanuatu in 2020 and was held until sentencing. He has agreed to pay $86 million in restitution and give up two paintings. Once seen as a rising star in the art scene, he studied at Goldsmiths and opened his first gallery in his twenties.