Ohio man to plead guilty for transporting stolen Warhol art worth $175,000

(CN) — If you’re trying to sell something stolen, make sure the guy you’re selling it to doesn’t talk to the guy who owned it first.

An Ohio man has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for trafficking a stolen Andy Warhol print worth at least $175,000 after the auction house he tried selling it to happened to contact the gallery that originally sold it. Brian Alec Light, formerly a resident of downtown Los Angeles, faces 10 years in federal prison for one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods — the maximum sentence under the law.

The stolen print was one of Warhol’s trial proofs depicting former Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin. The piece was number 44 of a total 46 made by Warhol, and was likely pulled during the screen printing process to assess the state of the image before final prints were made.

Even though it is technically an unfinished work, these kinds of prints are typically more valuable in the art market for what they reveal about the artist’s process.

The print was stolen from a private residence in Los Angeles County in early 2021. After its disappearance, the owner reported it stolen to both law enforcement and the West Hollywood gallery that originally sold the artwork. A few days later, the artwork was purchased by a local pawnshop, whose owner contacted Light for help selling the artwork. Light’s plea agreement confirms that he knew the artwork was stolen at the time.

Light arranged for the artwork to be dropped off at an auction house in Beverly Hills so that it could be shipped to Dallas for inspection and sale. Once in Texas, the print was to be auctioned off in the spring of 2021.

However, things didn’t go as planned for the would-be traffickers. The auction house in Dallas reached out to the West Hollywood gallery that originally sold the piece to seek an opinion on the artwork. The gallery immediately recognized the piece and notified the auction house that it was stolen. Then, they notified the FBI.

When the FBI questioned Light about the stolen print, he forged a receipt that falsely claimed he had purchased the print before its theft.

Light’s first appearance in federal court is scheduled for Oct. 28, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, which announced the plea agreement Tuesday. As part of his plea agreement, Light will also forfeit the stolen artwork.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the FBI’s Art Crime Team is still investigating the matter.

This isn’t the first time a Warhol work has been stolen this year. In March, a Mao Zedong print valued at $50,000 went missing from Orange Coast College in Orange County.