East Hampton Man Pleads Guilty After Selling $2.5 Million Worth of Fake Artwork

An East Hampton man pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Monday after allegedly selling $2.5 million worth of fake Jackson Pollock paintings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

John Re, 54, agreed to pay back the money he earned selling the artwork and a post-indictment restraining order was issued to prevent Re from selling a submarine, the “U.S.S. Deep Quest”, which he purchased in Texas with money he made from the fraudulent sale according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

From at least March 2005 through January 2014, Re invented a false provenance, the history demonstrating an artwork’s authenticity, for dozens of paintings, sketches, and pastels that he sold to art collectors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In at least one instance, he was confronted by a victim and resorted to threats of violence, claiming that his victim should be wary of Re’s purported connections to organized crime, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office.

The FBI, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the Suffolk County Police Department, along with assistance from the East Hampton Village Police took part in the investigation of the scam.

Re’s sentencing is scheduled for April 10, 2015.

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