NEW YORK, July 18 (UPI) -- A New York art dealer was charged Wednesday with failing to pay federal income tax on the proceeds from selling alleged fakes.
Glafira Rosales, 56, of Sands Point, N.Y., allegedly hid millions of dollars in Spanish bank accounts, The New York Times reported. U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara said Rosales made $12.5 million from forgeries sold as the work of artists such as Jackson Pollack.
"As alleged, Glafira Rosales gave new meaning to the phrase 'artful dodger' by avoiding taxes on millions of dollars in income from dealing in fake artworks for fake clients," Bharara said, referring to a skilled pickpocket in Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist."
Rosales, who began selling the works now being questioned in the 1990s through the respected New York gallery Knoedler & Co., said they belonged to a collector in Switzerland. Investigators say they believe they were the work of a single forger, who imitated the style of Pollack, Willem de Kooning and other celebrated 20th century artists.
Rosales' attorney said she is confident she will be cleared of all charges.
