Carter Reese, a 77-year-old resident of Reading, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 60 days in prison for his role in an art fraud scheme. United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl also ordered Reese to serve two years of supervised release with four months on home detention, pay a $50,000 fine, and provide restitution totaling $186,125.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Reese was charged in May with one count each of wire fraud and mail fraud. He pleaded guilty that same month.
Court filings indicate that between February 2019 and March 2021, Reese sold or tried to sell artwork he falsely claimed were authentic pieces by well-known artists such as Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jean Cocteau, Keith Haring, Fernand Léger, Roy Lichtenstein, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and others. In reality, Reese knew these works were counterfeit.
United States Attorney David Metcalf stated: “Carter Reese knowingly deceived customers by selling fake art attributed to renowned artists.” The case was investigated by members of the FBI’s Art Crime Team based in Philadelphia and Miami. Assistant United States Attorneys Ruth Mandelbaum and Jason Grenell prosecuted the case.
