Art lover allegedly conned Fortune 500

NEW YORK, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A New York woman has been charged with funding her art collection by scamming Fortune 500 companies, persuading them to sell her goods at steep discounts.

Dina Wein, 44, and five allege confederates were indicted by a federal grand jury in Indiana, the New York Post reported. Prosecutors say the group convinced companies they were providing products for promotional giveaways and then sold them at a healthy profit.

The government has seized Wein's art, including an Andy Warhol portrait of author Truman Capote.

Wein is the target of lawsuits that claim she targeted 400 companies, scamming 54 of them, including such well-known names as Campbell's and Kraft. Unilever alleges that it sold her $2 million in laundry detergent for $500,000, believing it would be given to low-income parents.

In another case, the group allegedly wooed a Roche Diagnostic executive, flying him and his wife to New York. He turned down a job they offered him but agreed to provide $11.7 million in diabetes testing equipment for $1.7 million to be used for promotion. Instead, the equipment was allegedly sold to Walgreen's.