ALBAWABA - A former employee of the German Museum in Munich has admitted to replacing several paintings with forgeries and selling the originals at auction, as crazy as that sounds.
The staff member allegedly replaced four paintings with fake copies during his time at the museum, from 2016 to 2018, selling the artworks at several auctions.
The individual reportedly used the money he gained to pay off debts and purchase luxury items such as a Rolls Royce car and wristwatches.
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The fraudster did this by taking possession of the valuable art pieces while working at the museum. He subsequently used auction houses to sell the stolen items claiming that they had been owned by his grandparents or great-grandparents.
The criminal avoided a prison sentence, but he was handed a 21-month suspended sentence and ordered to repay more than $64000 to the museum.
In its ruling, the court considered the man's confession and the fact that he had shown remorse. The court found that the defendant had acted without thinking, the ruling stated.
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The employee's thefts were detected when a researcher noticed that the painting, The Tale of the Frog Prince by Franz von Stock, was a "completely worn copy", while in the proper frame, indicating that it had been replaced.
The auction house involved in the sale of three of the stolen paintings said they were "simply unrecognizable as stolen property," emphasizing that they worked with authorities during the investigation.
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Cultural crimes such as art theft can have a bad impact on societies and bring about economic and cultural loss.
Previously stolen paintings, once discovered, are often restored and returned to museums or their original owners.
The buyers bought the stolen artwork in the auction at a high price not knowing it was stolen in the first place. In the art world, a stolen artwork's value decreases when it's stolen.
Institutions dealing with such art crimes regularly encourage cultural workers not to bend their moral standards. It would be terrible if art thefts become a normalized crime that happens too often, so it's important to put a stop to them whenever possible.
