North Shore Stolen Art Scheme Leads To Federal Fraud Charge: FBI

DEERFIELD, IL — An Indiana man is accused of fraud after scheming to sell expensive artwork stolen from a storage facility in Deerfield, prosecutors said. John Garcia, 53, of Schereville, Indiana, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of wire fraud, according to a complaint filed last week in federal court in Chicago.

The scheme involved the sale of paintings, sculptures and rugs from February of this year to earlier this month. Garcia, also known as "John Adams," "John Adamino," and "Michael Chapman," had schemed with another individual to steal the items and then broker their sale to dealers in art, antiques, and collectibles, in exchange for thousands of dollars, the complaint states.

Garcia and a woman who lived in the 1000 block of Cavell Avenue in Highland Park told buyers and federal agents they owned the stolen items, according to the complaint.

In one case, Garcia sent a text message with a photo of a statue that investigators identified as one of the stolen items.

"[T]his guy is Saint Michael and is over 600 years old . not cheap," it said, according to the complaint. Garcia allegedly offered to sell the statue for upwards of $50,000 in the text message exchange.

According to the FBI, the stolen items included very large paintings, rugs and sculptures of up to several feet in size.

Prosecutor said owner of the the artwork noticed approximately 159 items missing from the Deerfield storage facility and reported it to the FBI in May.

A subsequent investigation recovered many of the stolen items, the complaint states. Some stolen items were discovered after court-authorized searches of the Highland Park home and storage units Garcia leased in Orland Park, according to prosecutors.

Garcia is scheduled to have a detention hearing before U.S. District Judge Manish Shah Thursday.