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Eric Spoutz (Facebook photo)
A 32-year-old Mt. Clemens, who portrayed himself as a successful art dealer is accused by federal authorities of selling dozens of artworks by Willem De Kooning, Franz Kline and Joan Mitchell that were fake, NBC News reports.
Alex Johnson of NBC News reports that Eric Spoutz was arrested in Hollywood on Wednesday on a charge of selling forged art work. The station reports that he used forged documents to convince buyers of the authenticity of the art. The charges were filed in federal court in New York last week.
NBC reports that Spoutz also goes by the names Chad Smith, John Goodman and James Sinclair.
Spoutz is a well-known Michigan art dealer listed as the donor of paintings by American masters to numerous top galleries, NBC reports.
The criminal complaint, according NBC, says that the galleries and institutions with which Spoutz has successfully placed artworks are the Smithsonian Institution's National Museums of American Art and American History; Dartmouth College; the Library of Congress; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum; George Washington University; the Kinsey Institute; and Florida's Capitol.
NBC reports that the complaint did not name specific pieces alleged to be fake, and whether all or even most of the hundreds of pieces he's donated are under suspicion.
“As alleged, Eric Spoutz created an entire world of fiction to make a profit,” says a FBI assistant director, Diego Rodriguez. “The only real thing in this situation seems to be the financial losses the victims have incurred.”
