forgery

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Fake Art Bust: 'There Was Nothing Real... It Was Absurd'

Italian officials announce bust of art forgery ring

(Newser) - Had the 450 works been sold at auction, the could have pulled in $265 million. Not bad for a bunch of fakes. Italian officials say they've carried out one of the biggest busts of counterfeit art in the last 15 years, seizing some 2,100 pieces painted by European...

New Development in Mystery Over Bolsonaro's Vax Status

Brazilian authorities say anti-vax former president's records showing he'd been vaxxed were falsified

(Newser) - Jair Bolsonaro has long minimized COVID-19, as well as health and safety measures taken against the virus, including vaccination. Yet confusingly, records show that the former Brazilian president received a COVID shot more than two years ago, apparently to help him circumvent travel restrictions and other rules that required he...

She Told Classmates She Was 16. Police Say She Was 32

Former social worker accused of posing as a student at 3 Boston high schools

(Newser) - Students at Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Boston say the classmate they knew as Daniella chose the jersey number 32 when she joined the girls' basketball team. They didn't realize that was also her age. Investigators say former social worker Shelby Hewitt posed as a student at three...

Leonard Cohen's Kids: Dad's Ex-Manager Fiddled With Trust

Heirs say Robert Kory and his attorney swapped in forged paperwork after their father had died

(Newser) - Leonard Cohen died more than six years ago, at the age of 82, but the battle over his $48 million estate continues. It's the "Hallelujah" singer-songwriter's adult children, Adam Cohen and Lorca Cohen, versus his former manager, Robert Kory, who is the manager of Cohen's trust,...

He Looked at Galileo 'Treasure' Online, Grew Concerned

University of Michigan confirms its Galileo manuscript is fake

(Newser) - The University of Michigan Library touted a single piece of paper as one of its "great treasures." The draft of a letter signed with the name Galileo Galilei was followed by sketches of the moons Galileo observed around Jupiter in 1610, an observation that upended the long-held notion...

This Ex-Bank CEO's Expense Report Was Eyebrow-Raising

Former Raiffeisen chief Pierin Vincenz gets nearly 4 years in prison after $214K in strip club bills

(Newser) - A former "banker of the year" in Switzerland used his company credit card to pay for a Tinder date, a trip to Australia, and $214,000 in bills from strip clubs, according to testimony heard in a Zurich court before Pierin Vincenz was sentenced Wednesday to nearly four years...

Notorious Forgers Explain Themselves: 'We Got a Kick Out of It’

Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi collected millions before they went to prison

(Newser) - Wolfgang Beltracchi, notorious forger of 20-century art, had standards. "I have to create something beautiful," he said. "I want to make people happy." With their prison sentences served, Beltracchi and his wife and forgery partner, Helene, have discussed their life of art crimes with Jeannette Fischer,...

Cops: Wife Told Husband He Had Alzheimer's, Stole $600K
Cops: Wife Duped Husband for
Years, to the Tune of $600K
in case you missed it
Oct 31, 2021 8:45 AM CDT

Cops: Wife Duped Husband for Years, to the Tune of $600K

Donna Marino's spouse didn't have Alzheimer's but she made him think he did to control his money

(Newser) - For two decades, a Connecticut man says he let his wife handle virtually all of his finances for him, a move he apparently felt even more necessary once he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. At least, he thought he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. East Haven police say that'...

Group 'Destroys' $20K Warhol Sketch by Hiding It Amid Fakes

MSCHF stunt meant to 'destroy any future confidence in the veracity of the work'

(Newser) - The art collective that brought you Lil Nas X's Satan Shoes says it's latest stunt involved "destroying" a one-of-a kind Andy Warhol sketch. Brooklyn-based MSCHF (pronounced "mischief") acquired Warhol's "Fairies," a 1954 minimalist ink sketch of three nude fairies playing with a...

Yale: Our Viking Treasure Is 'Fake'
'The Vinland Map Is a Fake'
Sep 30, 2021 12:02 PM CDT

'The Vinland Map Is a Fake'

Analyses suggest storied map was forged in 20th century, isn't an ancient relic

(Newser) - It was once considered the oldest known map depicting North America. But the Vinland Map, credited to early Viking explorers, is not what it initially seemed, according to Yale University, which acquired it in the 1960s. For one thing, the calfskin parchment map of the North American coastline southwest of...

His Ancient Find Was 'Too Good to Be True.' Maybe Not

Inside new research on what one scholar says is a precursor to the Book of Deuteronomy

(Newser) - Biblical scholar Idan Dershowitz started a fellowship at Harvard's Society of Fellows in 2017 , and he sent emails to its chairman about a theory he had about 15 manuscript fragments found more than a century ago. The response he got: "You're crazy, I don't want to...

Prince Charles Entangled in $136M Art Fraud Case

Forgeries were allegedly loaned to his charity

(Newser) - Prince Charles and his charity have been caught up in a royally big scandal over an alleged art hoax involving paintings supposedly worth $136 million. The Claude Monet, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso paintings were loaned to Dumfries House, the headquarters of the Prince's Foundation, by businessman James Stunt,...

Man Was Late for Work, Could End Up in Prison

Not for the tardiness, but for how he tried to get excused for it

(Newser) - A man accused of forging a police report to back up his bogus story that he used as an excuse to his boss is facing real charges in New Hampshire. The Caledonian-Record reports that 51-year-old Paul Neilson was charged last week with forgery, a felony punishable by up to seven...

Court: Arrest Warrant Out for Stan Lee's Former Manager

Keya Morgan accused of elder abuse against late comic book legend

(Newser) - It's been just over six months since Stan Lee died , but controversy still swirls around the late Marvel Comics leader's ex-manager and business partner. Reuters reports that the latest in the saga involving Keya Morgan includes five counts of elder abuse filed against him Friday, including charges of...

Trump Nominations for Nobel Peace Prize Were Forgeries

Fakes submitted both this year and last year, head of Norwegian Nobel Institute says

(Newser) - President Trump is (or was) apparently up for the Nobel Peace Prize that will be announced this fall, a surprise revelation since who's in the running is usually kept under wraps by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. But the New York Times explains Trump's candidacy was divulged because of...

Green Pigment a Telltale Clue in Art-Fraud Case: Suit

'St. Jerome' contains modern pigment: Sotheby's

(Newser) - St. Jerome was said to have been painted by an Italian Renaissance master and was displayed at Vienna's national gallery before it was sold at auction in 2012 for $842,500. The buyer apparently overpaid. Sotheby's now says the artwork is a fake, not painted by Parmigianino in...

'Jesus Wife' Tale Takes a Turn for the Bizarre
'Jesus Wife' Tale Takes
a Turn for the Bizarre
in case you missed it
Jun 25, 2016 3:50 PM CDT

'Jesus Wife' Tale Takes a Turn for the Bizarre

Harvard prof backtracks after learning of shady pornographer's central role

(Newser) - The question of whether Jesus was married became a hot topic in academic circles when a papyrus fragment surfaced in which he's quoted as talking about his wife. A Harvard professor was convinced enough to present an academic paper on the subject, though skeptics abounded about the fragment's...

7-Year-Old Fools School With Poorly Spelled Note

The tiny forger spent the afternoon unsupervised

(Newser) - A Texas school district is investigating after the staff at one of its elementary schools was fooled by a misspelled, suspiciously childlike note passed off by a 7-year-old student, KTRK reports. Instead of going to the after-school program at Sheldon Elementary like she was supposed to on Monday, Rosabella Dahu...

Forger Claims 'Da Vinci' Work Is His Own Fake

Is that a noblewoman or Sally from the co-op?

(Newser) - It might be a da Vinci portrait of a 15th-century noblewoman. Or it might be a fake featuring a modern-day cashier named Sally. Or perhaps neither. Whatever the truth, a forger's "astonishing" claim in Britain has the art world buzzing, reports the Art Newspaper . The claim comes from...

Woman Poses as Lawyer, Makes Partner at Firm

Kimberly Kitchen charged with forgery and a few other things

(Newser) - A woman used forged documents to pose as an estate lawyer for a decade and made partner at her small firm before her fraud was discovered, according to charges announced yesterday. Kimberly Kitchen was charged Thursday with forgery, unauthorized practice of law, and felony records tampering. State prosecutors contend Kitchen...

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