Though himself not a forger, Ely Sakhai, the former owner of Exclusive Art Gallery in New York City, was sentenced to over three years in prison for his involvement in an elaborate forgery scheme that lasted for nearly two decades and impacted collectors and auction houses from East Asia to the United States. Sakhai’s modus operandi was unique: after purchasing authentic works, he would use a team of forgers to make careful copies then sell the fakes along with the original, authentic paperwork to buyers in East Asia. After a period of time, he would have the originals recertified and sell them to auction houses in New York. Eventually, authentic and forged versions of the same paintings appeared on the market at the same time, leading to an investigation in which Sakhai was charged with fraud and eventually imprisoned in 2005. Since his release, Sakhai has returned to the New York art scene and currently runs a new gallery that he opened, The Art Collection.
By Whitney White