FEDS BUST FORGER KENNEDY IN $1M+ FRAUD CASE

Feds Nail Forger Kennedy on 5 Fraud Counts

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

Charges were announced yesterday, Wednesday, March 19^th 2008 against James Kennedy, the Northbrook, Illinois art forger who has been hounded by this website for nearly four years since he tried to pass his worthless trash here in Milwaukee.

According to the press release issued by the U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, [Harvard, ‘85], (who does not appear to be licensed in Illinois, oddly enough):
“Kennedy allegedly traveled to art shows throughout the country where he sold counterfeit artwork of prominent artists as genuine limited edition prints. Between 2005 and 2007, Kennedy received nearly $1.3 million from the sale of art, including 61 successful auctions of counterfeit art on eBay, from he (sic) which he fraudulently obtained more than $39,000, the indictment alleges.”

The superseding indictment charges:

“Between approximately 2000 and January 2008, at Northbrook, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and elsewhere, LEON AMIEL, JR., and JAMES KENNEDY, defendants herein, together with Michael Zabrin, Art Dealer A, Art Dealer B, and others known and unknown, devised and intended to devise, and participated in, a scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, in connection with the sale of limited edition fine art prints.”Amiel, 36, is the son of Leon Amiel who died in 1988. In 1992, federal agents seized 75,000 fake prints by Chagall, Dali, Miro and Picasso from the senior Amiel, who is cited in a book about Dali fakes.
Fake Dali prints are so prevalent that 21 years ago the auction houses of Sotheby’s and Christie’s simply stopped accepting them for sale.

For the record, Milwaukeeworld has written about Kennedy and his criminal dealings since 2004. Three years ago milwaukeeworld published an Ebay page where Kennedy sold his fakes, and warned you then. And this is after the guy served time in Milwaukee for possessing fakes, a story that we broke here! Since the time of our warnings, Kennedy sold $1.3 million of fakes at art shows, and $39,000 of fakes on Ebay. In fact, there is an entire website devoted to Ebay fakes. And still Kennedy kept in business! Folks! Do your homework! [If you want to see what a real Chagall poster looks like, come on by and I’ll show you a dozen of them. But do you know the difference between a poster and a print?—Ed.]

The fakes were usually accompanied by fake letters of authenticity, a topic covered in an exchange of letters by this author and a Picasso expert in an art forum. [Kennedy’s name was disguised as “ABC” in this colloquy.—Ed.]

As the Chicago Appraisers Association noted, “all fake Dali prints came with a so-called letter of authenticity.” More than two-thirds of Dali prints on the market are fake in one way or another. [Real print, fake signature; fake print; real signature; fake print, fake signature.]

(The reason there can be real Dali signatures on fake prints is that the artist signed thousands of blanks before his death.)

Picasso was the most famous and most prolific artist of all time. He, too, is widely faked. The Chicago appraisers will investigate likely authentic Picassos for a $895 fee. The association is located in Northbrook – Kennedy’s hometown. He remains in federal custody without bond pending a March 24^th hearing.

Kennedy faces five counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice, according to an FBI press release. The government is asking for a forfeiture of $1 million. Prior to his federal incarceration, Kennedy served time in Milwaukee County jail before being extradited to Indiana on child support charges in 2005. Google the milwaukeeworld site to see earlier postings on this character.

ARE YOU A VICTIM?
Victims of Kennedy who suspect they have purchased fake artwork are encouraged to fill out a Fraudulent Art Victim Complaint Form to submit to the court. There is also relief available through the IRS, which allows a deduction in certain instances such as this. --Michael Horne