Manhattan Art Advisor – That Celebrity clients included actor Leonardo DiCaprio – Prosecutors said she was sentenced to “substantial” prison sentence Wednesday for fraudulently scamming at least 12 of the nearly $6.5 million people she lived in.
Flisa Schiff was sentenced two and a half years after Barr by Manhattan Federal Court Judge Paul Oetken on a five-year scheme that included 55 works of art.
The 54-year-old adviser acted as an intermediary between the gallery and auction house and her collector's clients through her solid Schiff Fine Art.
But instead, Schiff will fail to blow cash to himself and deliver artwork to his customers, the federal government said.
Similarly, when she received money for the sale of her job, instead of paying her clients and taking the committee, she maintained all the benefits for herself.
For example, she had to lie to her clients and gallery to continue the scam, claiming she hadn't yet sold certain artwork when she actually had, and claiming that she hadn't received payment from her clients.
Her victims claimed she would use the funds instead to pay for apartment rentals, Greek villa vacation rentals and European shopping sprees at designer shops for $25,000 a month.
She also allegedly spent money on yachts and helicopters and used the money to help her grow her debt.
Schiff treated client funds as “her personal piggy bank,” her victim's lawyer wrote in court papers last year.
Her victims included at least one artist, the artist's property and one gallery.
“For five years, Lisa Schiff has broken the trust of his art advisory clients by paying millions of dollars for his business and personal expenses, and paying for a luxurious lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolski said in a statement.
“Because of Sif's lies and her fantastic arts advisory fraud, Sif will now sentence him to a considerable amount of sentence in prison.”
As part of her sentence, Schiff must also pay back the $6.5 million she stole and another $9 million in compensation.
Her defense attorney, Randy Zerin, told the post via email that Schiff “want to make the most of her opportunities while she is in custody.”
“We want to take her on the path to healing and home, so she can return to her main role as a mother, and at the same time help the victims maximize their recovery,” Zerin said. “And we'll decide on the next chapter in her book of life.”
Schiff pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in October to glyfts he ran between 2018 and May 2023.
The suffering art advisor is also facing a lawsuit by real estate heir Candice Carmel Barash and her husband, a prominent attorney in Manhattan.
The case is pending due to an open bankruptcy case where she auctioned off art to pay off her debts.
Her attorney in the case did not return a request for comment Wednesday.
