Art advisor in Manhattan. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and other stars On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, admitting to stealing $6.5 million from more than a dozen customers over five years.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Lisa Schiff, 54, kept the transactions secret from her clients and pocketed all of the profits from the sales of her clients' art, rather than just commissions, and committed fraud. It is said that he used the profits he earned to live a wealthy life.
The admitted fraudster also allegedly promised to use some customers' money to purchase artwork, but instead used the funds to pay personal and business expenses and cover large debts. prosecutors said.
Schiff's fraud scheme involved 55 works of art and ran from at least 2018 until May 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Prosecutors say she defrauded at least 12 customers, one artist, the estate of another artist and one gallery out of at least $6.5 million.
“Instead of using his clients' funds as promised, Schiff used the stolen money to fund a lavish lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
Lawyers for several of her victims said in documents filed in Manhattan bankruptcy court that week that Schiff used the stolen funds to pay for a $25,000-a-month apartment, shopping at designer boutiques in Europe and spending time in Greece. He wrote that he had rented a villa and used it for luxury items such as vacations. , yachts and helicopters.
She treated client funds as “her personal piggy bank,” the lawyers wrote.
Schiff pleaded guilty Thursday at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. She agreed to forfeit $6.4 million and was scheduled to be sentenced on January 17th before Judge J. Paul Oetken.
Under the terms of her plea agreement, prosecutors are required to recommend a prison sentence of 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years for her, despite the maximum 20 years for wire fraud.
Schiff's attorney, Randy Zelin, said Schiff “will work to show the court and the world that he not only accepts responsibility, but is remorseful.”
“She's humbled,” he added. “She is willing to do everything to right the wrong.”
Schiff's art advisory business, Schiff Fine Art, served as an intermediary between art galleries and auction houses and her art collector clients.
Mr. Schiff sometimes lied to galleries that he promised to buy art using customers' money, falsely blaming customers for “delays” in payments when in fact he ran away with the funds. Prosecutors say he was accused of
Eventually, Schiff became “unable to hide his plans as his debts mounted,” and “he confessed to stealing money from several clients,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.
Mr. Schiff also faces civil lawsuits from irate clients, including real estate heiress Candace Carmel Barash and her husband, prominent Manhattan lawyer Michael Barash.
with post wire
