Lisa Schiff, a former art advisor based in Manhattan, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for defrauding her clients of approximately $6.5 million. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken following a multi-year scheme where Schiff misappropriated funds related to the purchase and sale of around fifty-five artworks.
Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky stated, "For five years, Lisa Schiff breached the trust of her art advisory clients by diverting millions of dollars to pay her own business and personal expenses, and to fund a lavish lifestyle. Because of Schiff’s lies, and her illusory art advisory scam, Schiff will now serve a substantial sentence in prison."
From 2018 through May 2023, Schiff operated her scheme through her business, Schiff Fine Art (SFA). She advised clients on buying and selling artworks while acting as an intermediary between galleries or auction houses and art collectors. Payments were typically routed through SFA when transactions occurred.
Schiff's fraudulent activities included not remitting payments to clients after selling their artwork without disclosing the sales and failing to purchase artworks on behalf of clients despite receiving funds for such purchases. Instead, she used these funds for personal expenses. To further her fraud, she lied about the status of sales and blamed payment delays on clients when dealing with galleries.
In 2020, Schiff considered confessing to at least two victims but continued her fraudulent activities until May 2023 when mounting debts forced her confession to several clients.
The court also sentenced Schiff to two years of supervised release post-incarceration. She must pay forfeiture amounting to $6,408,538.20 and restitution totaling $9,147,789.26.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Crime Team was praised for its work on this case which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cecilia Vogel and Jennifer Ong from the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.
