FLORIDA – A Florida art dealer has been sentenced to prison for laundering money from an art fraud scheme.
Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for laundering money derived from his scheme to sell counterfeit artwork, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).
U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon also ordered Bouaziz to pay a $15,000 fine. The restitution hearing is set for August 16.
Bouaziz pled guilty in February.
According to the USAO, Bouaziz owned art galleries, including Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli, located at 226A and 230 Worth Avenue, respectively, in Palm Beach County, Florida.
On October 25, 2021, Bouaziz sold counterfeit artwork to a customer, including pieces purportedly by artist Andy Warhol out of his Palm Beach art galleries. Bouaziz told the customer that the works that he was selling for between $75,000 and $240,000 were authentic, original Warhol pieces and that the artist signed some of the pieces.
Relying upon these false and fraudulent representations, the USAO said the customer purchased artwork from Bouaziz. The customer gave Bouaziz a $200,000 down payment for the artwork. The money was deposited into Bouaziz’s account and then the comingled funds were wired to other accounts, including an account controlled by Bouaziz, said the USAO.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Cannon.
FBI Miami, West Palm Beach Resident Agency, and IRS-CI Miami investigated this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Schall is prosecuting this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter A. Laserna and Daren Grove are handling asset forfeiture.
If you believe you have been a victim of art fraud, please contact the FBI’s Art Crime Team at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-80099.
