Daniel Elie Bouaziz, an artwork broker primarily based in Palm Beach, Florida, has been sentenced to 27 months in federal jail and 3 years of supervised liberate, adopted through a $15,000 effective, for his involvement within the laundering of cash received from the sale of faux artistic endeavors. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon presided over the case and set a restitution listening to for August 16.
Bouaziz owned two artwork galleries in Palm Beach, particularly Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli, situated at 226A and 230 Worth Avenue, respectively. He knowingly performed and tried to perform financial transactions via a monetary establishment, which affected interstate and international trade, with criminally received assets in extra of $10,000. Such assets was once a product of the illegal sale of faux artwork, and Bouaziz used approach of interstate trade to perform the sale and switch of proceeds.
On October 25, 2021, Bouaziz offered counterfeit paintings, together with items allegedly created through artist Andy Warhol, to a buyer from his galleries. Bouaziz misled the buyer, claiming that the works had been unique Warhol items, some of which have been even signed through the artist. Based on Bouaziz’s fraudulent claims, the buyer bought the pieces for quantities ranging from $75,000 to $240,000, giving Bouaziz a $200,000 down cost for the paintings. Bouaziz deposited the price range into his account, after which transferred the commingled price range to different accounts ruled through him.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, introduced the sentence imposed through U.S. District Judge Cannon.
The case was once investigated through the FBI Miami, West Palm Beach Resident Agency, and IRS-CI Miami, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah J. Schall prosecuting the case. Asset forfeiture is being treated through Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter A. Laserna and Daren Grove.
If you imagine that you’ve been a sufferer of artwork fraud, you could touch the FBI’s Art Crime Team at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
For further information in this case, together with courtroom paperwork, please consult with the web site of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov underneath case quantity 22-cr-80099.
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