A Florida art dealer who promised to bargain for original works by Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Henri Matisse and others has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for carrying out a counterfeit scheme. federal officials announced.
The man, Daniel Ellie Bouaziz, 69, owns several art galleries in Palm Beach County, Florida, through which he ran his counterfeiting scheme. He was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal district court to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine, according to court filings.
Bouazis pleaded guilty to one money-laundering charge in February on condition that federal prosecutors drop 16 other charges, according to the documents.
Neither Mr. Bouaziz nor his lawyers could be reached for comment on Tuesday night.
Prosecutors said Mr Bouaziz was an Algerian-born French-Israeli national and was in the United States on a B-2 visitor visa. They said the work he described as authentic was a cheap reproduction purchased through an online auction. He was indicted in June following an investigation that included issuing a search warrant against his own gallery, examining financial records, and secretly purchasing what prosecutors deemed fraudulent art.
The federal complaint alleges that Mr. Bouaziz traded art through three companies: Gallery Danieli, Danieli Fine Art and VIP Rentals LLC. website Danieli Fine Art promotes a wide range of renowned artist collections, from Monet and Rodin to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Willem de Kooning.
But it was a counterfeit Andy Warhol who sent Mr. Bouaziz to prison.
On October 25, 2021, Mr. Bouaziz sold “genuine and original Warhol works” to unsuspecting customers, claiming some were “signed by the artist.” federal prosecutor said. The client gave Mr. Bouaziz a down payment of $200,000 and transferred it to another account. According to court documents, Mr. Bouaziz then brought the five works of art to the buyer’s home.
Federal prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night, but said in the sentencing memo that Mr. Bouazis “knew that some of the products he sold were not genuine.” In one instance, he sold a fraudulent piece of art to an undercover agent for $25,000, they added.
They added that Mr. Bouaziz had attracted many in Palm Beach with his charity work, luxury cars and invitations to lunches and art events. But prosecutors said his generosity overshadowed a darker reality. “Mr. Bouazis painted a picture of himself that he wanted others to see and believe,” they said.
A hearing is scheduled for August 16th.
