How a Type Font Caught Alleged Michigan Art Swindler

MOUNT CLEMENS, MI – A Mount Clemens art dealer created a fictitious world and multiple aliases in a scheme to pass off dozens of forged artworks as masterpieces, federal authorities allege.

Eric Ian Hornak Spoutz, 32, could spend up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the wire fraud charge filed against him in U.S. District Court for New York’s Southern District. He was arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Diego Rodriguez, FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office, said in a statement that Spoutz “created an entire world of fiction to make a profit.”

“The only real thing in this situation seems to be the financial losses the victims have incurred for purchasing what they thought were true works of art, whether for investment purposes or personal enjoyment,” Rodriguez said.

Spoutz tripped up, the government said, when he consistently used a single, distinctive type font and style on documents intended to convince his victims of the authenticity of their purchases, including receipts, bills of sale, and letters from dead attorneys and others that claimed Spoutz had inherited or purchased the artworks.

From 2012 to March 2015, though, Spoutz’s alleged scheme worked as he assumed aliases such as “Robert Chad Smith,” “John Goodman” and “James Sinclair” to swindle unwitting art collectors, federal prosecutors alleged.

The government alleged that despite Spoutz’s efforts to create false histories for the work, inconsistencies in his forged documents revealed him as a fraud.

“Many of the purported transactions took place before Spoutz was born, and the forged letters included non-existent addresses both for the purported sender and various parties referenced as sources of the artworks,” the government said. “Spoutz also consistently used a single distinctive typesetting when forging documents purportedly authored by entirely different art galleries in different decades regarding unrelated transactions”.

In one instance, investigators located the original letter Spoutz used as a model for one of his forgeries in a collection at a private university, which holds a collection of letters from the individual whose identity Spoutz used to create a false story of inheritance, the government said.

The government alleged Spoutz used historical names such as “Betty Parsons Gallery,” “Larry Larkin,” “Henry Hecht,” and “Julius or Jay Wolf” to con his victims.

In a 2012 interview with The Macomb Daily, Spoutz discussed his quick rise as a nationally prominent art dealer and “uncanny knack for the appreciation of art.”

Speaking from his Grosse Pointe home on Lake St. Clair, Spoutz claimed he would be flying to Washington, DC, to attend President Obama’s inauguration and co-curate an exhibition for the Federal Reserve building.

“It’s a feeling I can’t describe; I knew I was going to be an art dealer,” Spoutz, a Cardinal Mooney High School graduate who was born and raised in Mount Clemens, told the newspaper. “It was almost impossible for me to imagine pursuing a career nationally rather than regionally.”

In a review of Kenneth Walton’s book, “Fake: Forgery, Lies & eBay” on Amazon.com, Spoutz wrote:

“Walton’s book is an easy read and, at times, quite humorous. However, the autobiographical tale of his criminal and fraudulent acts of selling fake art on-line is hampered by the young author’s incessant blaming of eBay for “allowing” him to commit such crimes. Walton’s tone is that of the preppy-murderer Robert Chambers who never seems to take responsibility for his crimes and actually blames the victims for allowing the crimes to be commmitted [sic]. In Walton’s case, the victims are the buyers of his fraudulent art, eBay and the art community at-large. For fans of sociopathic, self-indulgent, unapologetic humor, this book is for you. You can also visit Walton’s self-promo site to see him with friends eating cake and celebrating his crimes against the innocent. For all others, save yourself the time and read some art books instead.”

After news of Spoutz’s arrest broke Wednesday, another individual commented on Amazon:

“”Now that’s the pot calling the kettle black. ... You are sociopathic, self-indulgent, and an unapologetic phony baloney piece of crap Mr. Spoutz or whatever your name is today. Today I call you Mr. Sleeze [sic] Bag. He’s to you and your next 20 years in jail. Pfffft!”

Art buyers who who believe they are victims are encouraged to call the New York Art Crime Team at (212) 384-1000, attention Special Agent Chris McKeogh or Special Agent Meridith Savona.

The case against Spoutz was presented Wednesday afternoon to U.S. Magistrate Judge Gail Standish of the Central District of California.

Read the complaint below: