Wendy Beard pulled a lot of stunts to make money off her elderly art customers — like claiming she was in a coma when they inquired about their artwork, or in the hospital for a double-lung transplant, the FBI says.
It worked for years, as her unsuspecting customers gave her artwork to sell on consignment — only she sold it and kept the money, including a mural-sized Ansel Adams photograph she sold for $440,000 without ever telling the owner.
Her customers, however, eventually caught on. The FBI was summoned. And the con artist eventually fessed up.
In U.S. District Court on Thursday, 58-year-old Beard — who inherited a lucrative art gallery from her millionaire father, but then started scamming customers one year after his death — pleaded guilty to wire fraud. In her plea agreement, she admitted she defrauded more than 10 customers who had entrusted her with selling more than $1.5 million worth of art.
Years-long scam from Detroit-area gallery
“She accepted responsibility for her conduct, which was the right thing to do in this situation,” her attorney, Steve Fishman, said following the plea hearing.
The Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, first reported on Beard’s yearslong crime spree following her arrest in 2022, when the FBI detailed her crimes in court documents, explained how she fell on the government’s radar, who she conned and the lengths to which she went to keep her ill-gotten gains.
Among her victims was the 82-year-old owner of the Ansel Adams photo she secretly sold for $440,000. When the owner tried to get the picture back, the FBI says Beard came up with a story: She was in the hospital getting a double lung transplant and was too sick to deal with the request.
None of it was true, says the FBI, which discovered more victims, including: an 89-year-old man with Alzheimer’s who gave her five photographs to sell on consignment; a 69-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and college professor who wanted her to sell some rare original photographs on consignment; a 72-year-old longtime friend; and a 70-year-old art collector who placed four items on consignment with Beard, including a signed Ansel Adams book and three photographs, one of which was “Painter’s Wife, Helen Abelen.”
Dozens of victims, fake emails
According to court documents, Beard initially ran the scheme out of a Detroit-area gallery that her father founded more than 50 years ago, though the business closed in 2020, so she ran it out of her home. The scheme started in 2017, one year after her father died, and ran until 2022, when her clients grew suspicious.
Beard wasn’t returning their artwork, so they contacted the Birmingham, Mich. police, who referred the complaints to the FBI. Dozens more victims came forward, including five individuals whose stories triggered criminal charges.
The victims were conned in many ways, the government says. For example, when her clients would ask for their work back, Beard not only lied about her health, but told some there was a lack of interest in their work, despite having already sold the photographs in question. She also created fake employees, who would correspond with the victims, pretending to work for Beard, when it was Beard herself who was writing the fake emails.
“This defendant swindled numerous families out of valuable artwork and lied to them repeatedly in order to keep her fraud scheme afloat,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison stated in announcing the guilty plea. “She did this for no reason other than to line her own pockets at the expense of her victims.”
Beard, who is free on bond, will be sentenced in December. While wire fraud carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, she will likely receive a significantly shorter sentence due to her guilty plea.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
