A man has pled guilty to a federal charge of trafficking after trying to sell a stolen Andy Warhol print of Vladimir Lenin to an auction house.
A press release from the US Attorney’s office for the Central District of California said Brian Alec Light is expected to plead guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods. The work, that release said, has an estimated value of “at least $175,000.”
The federal charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Light will also forfeit the stolen artwork retrieved by law enforcement as part of his plea agreement.
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The grey and yellow screenprint from 1987 is a trial proof which features former Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin. The edition that was stolen was number 44 out of 46.
“Each one is unique, making them much more one-of-a-kind and valued by collectors,” Phil Selway, a gallerist who serves as CEO of Hamilton Selway gallery in West Hollywood, told ARTnews.
Ron Rivlin, owner of Revolver Gallery, also in West Hollywood, said the value of a regular black and white edition Warhol print of Vladimir Lenin in good condition “trends at $100,000 to $125,000,” but trial proofs are worth more due to their greater rarity. “We’ve sold two Lenin TPs in the last five years. Both were right around $175,000,” Rivlin told ARTnews.
(While Revolver did not sell the recovered Warhol print, it specializes in selling works by the artist, with Rivlin having owned approximately 1,500 pieces, holding a current inventory of over 400, inspecting “more than “at least 10,000,” and working with the FBI for the past 8 years in helping identify forgeries.)
The press release from the US Attorney’s Office did not name the art gallery which sold the work or the auction house. In the plea agreement, the auction house is referred to as “H.A.” and is said to be based in Dallas.
Selway confirmed to ARTnews it was his gallery, Hamilton Selway, which made the original sale of the artwork and identified it as stolen to Heritage Auctions. “We saw it was up at auction for Heritage, and we let them know there was a potential problem with the piece,” Selway said. “We wanted them to know something was going on there.”
A spokesperson from Heritage told ARTnews, “As soon as Heritage discovered the Warhol was stolen, we immediately worked with the FBI to secure its return.”
The 25-page plea agreement detailed how a thief stole the Warhol print from the victim’s LA home in February 2021, then brought it to a pawn shop, where “G.B.,” the owner of the pawn shop, took possession. “G.B.” the reached out to Light for help selling the artwork. Light contacted the local LA office of an auction house and told “G.B.” to drop off the Warhol print there so it could be transported to Dallas for inspection and sale.
“Defendant knew the print was stolen, he intended for the print to be sold by H.A., and he expected for the print to travel interstate as part of the sale. Defendant expected to earn a share of the money from the sale of the print,” stated the plea agreement.
The work was shipped from Beverly Hills to Dallas and Light signed a consignment agreement with the auction house on March 2, 2021. The auction house planned to inspect the print and include it in “Print & Multiples Signature Auction” on April 22, 2021.
The plea agreement also states that Hamilton Selway contacted the FBI, prompting an agent from the federal agency to interview Light about the artwork and its theft on March 8, 2021. The court document states that Light told the FBI agent he purchased the print from a garage sale in Los Angeles for $18,000 in cash and he had a receipt. Two days later, Light emailed the FBI a fake receipt which stated, “I Brian Light bought an A Warhol Painting from Brandon Beldin on Feb 4 2021 for $18,000 in Culver City CA”.
“Defendant, however, knew when he submitted the purported receipt that it was false and that defendant had not in fact purchased the artwork from anyone, including someone named Brandon Beldin,” the court document reads. “Defendant submitted the fake receipt to the FBI to affect the FBI’s investigation.”
Light’s initial appearance in federal court is scheduled for October 28. The press release from the Attorney’s Office also noted that the FBI’s Art Crime Team was investigating this case.
Assistant United States Attorney Erik Silber, Senior Counsel in the Criminal Division and Assistant United States Attorneys Dominique Caamano, and Matthew O’Brien, of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, are prosecuting this case.
The details of the plea agreement were first reported by Courthouse News.
Update, October 3, 2024: Added comment from Heritage Auctions spokesperson.
Update, October 4, 2024: Added clarification from Revolver Gallery about number of works owned and current inventory.