German art crime investigators have dismantled an elaborate forgery operation run by a group of senior citizens who attempted to sell fake masterpieces allegedly created by world-renowned artists including Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Peter Paul Rubens. The Bavarian State Criminal Police (LKA) announced that 20 suspected artworks being sold under the names of famous artists have been seized in a coordinated international investigation.
The primary suspect, a 77-year-old man from the Schwandorf area in Bavaria's Upper Palatinate region, along with ten accomplices, faces charges of attempted commercial and organized fraud involving art forgeries. Authorities allege the group tried to sell purported works by masters including Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Frida Kahlo, with asking prices ranging from 400,000 euros to an astounding 14 million euros per piece.
A key accomplice in the scheme was a 74-year-old man from Rhineland-Palatinate who created fraudulent expert assessments and certificates of authenticity to support the gang's claims that their forgeries were genuine masterpieces. These fake documentation attempts were designed to convince potential buyers of the artworks' legitimacy and justify the multimillion-euro price tags the group was demanding.
Last week, law enforcement agencies conducted simultaneous raids at dozens of locations across three countries - Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein - uncovering a substantial collection of forged artworks during the coordinated operation. The international scope of the searches demonstrates the extensive network the criminal organization had established to market and potentially distribute their fake masterpieces across European borders.
While investigators have not yet identified any cases where the senior citizen gang successfully completed sales of their fraudulent artworks, authorities continue to examine the full extent of their activities and are investigating whether any victims may have fallen prey to their sophisticated deception scheme. The case highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the art world in combating increasingly sophisticated forgery operations targeting collectors and museums worldwide.
