James Baron of the NY Times is reporting that Lawrence Salander-O’Reilly Galleries of New York City has been charged with stealing $88 million from investors and collectors who consigned art to his gallery. Much of this story has been well covered and documented by Maine Antique Digest as it unfolded over the past year or so. Salander was arrested and charged Thursday morning.Baron reports The dealer, Lawrence B. Salander, and his business, the Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, were charged by a grand jury with 100 counts including grand larceny, falsifying business records, scheming to defraud, forgery and perjury, according to the person, who declined to be identified because the charges had not been formally announced.
Baron continues the gallery shut down amid a barrage of lawsuits accusing Mr. Salander of falling behind on obligations like payments he had promised customers who invested in paintings with him. Investors like the tennis star John McEnroe said he had put up $162,500 for Salander-O’Reilly to buy art and then resell it at a profit. He sued, saying that Salander-O’Reilly had promised to pay him $325,000.
Another investor, Roy Lennox, a hedge fund manager, said he had given Mr. Salander far more money—$3.575 million—and had been promised a $3.725 payback. But Mr. Lennox said in court papers that Mr. Salander had paid him only $958,332.
One lawsuit described the gallery as ”nothing more than a Ponzi scheme,” and at least one artist’s family went to the police. In October 2007 John Crawford, a son of the abstract painter and printmaker Ralston Crawford, said that he went to the authorities because at least a dozen paintings and photographs consigned to the gallery were missing. He estimated that they were worth $1.2 million to $1.5 million.To read the full NY Times article, click HERE. Fellow appraiser Carol English also sent the following links on the Salander indictment at artinfo, click HERE and from comcast sports noting on the John McEnroe connection, click HERE.
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