Two New Jersey residents pleaded guilty to running a years-long counterfeit art scheme that funneled fake works into the legitimate market, defrauding buyers of at least $2 million.
Erwin Bankowski, 50, and Karolina Bankowska, 26, admitted in federal court in Brooklyn to wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresenting Native American–produced goods, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The pair, a father and daughter, now face up to 20 years in prison, along with at least $1.9 million in restitution.
Prosecutors say that between 2020 and 2025, the two consigned more than 200 counterfeit works to galleries and auction houses across the United States, slipping them into the market as if they were by blue-chip names, including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Banksy, and Luiseño artist Fritz Scholder. Some were listed for sale at prices reaching $160,000, a level that placed them comfortably within the mid-tier market where due diligence can be uneven and provenance often taken at face value.
To give the works a veneer of legitimacy, the defendants fabricated detailed ownership histories, claiming the pieces had passed through private collections tied to the artists, or through galleries and corporate collections that no longer exist. By anchoring the stories to defunct entities, they made it harder for dealers and buyers to verify the claims.
They also went a step further, according to prosecutors, producing forged gallery stamps and certificates of authenticity. In some cases, those were made using antique books and aged paper to better mimic the look of archival documentation before being attached to the works themselves.
Authorities emphasized that the scheme extended beyond financial fraud. Because some of the works were falsely attributed to Native American artists, including Scholder, the case also triggered charges tied to the misrepresentation of Native American–produced goods, an area that federal investigators have increasingly focused on in recent years.
“This artwork scheme doesn’t just cheat buyers,” said Doug Ault of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. “It steals from Native American artists and undermines the integrity of an entire cultural marketplace.”
