A British art dealer is facing extradition to the US for allegedly supplying forged documents to “serial swindler” Inigo Philbrick, who duped investors out of £68m.
Robert Newland is charged with providing false documents to help Philbrick perpetrate a “ponzi-like scheme” on collectors, which involved Philbrick defrauding clients by selling the same works of art to multiple investors and using the works as collateral on loans. Philbrick, dubbed the “mini Madoff of the art world” for using his ill-gotten money to bankroll a lavish lifestyle, was imprisoned for seven years last month.
Newland was named as a suspect in February when New York’s Southern District Court unsealed an indictment against him. At that time, Newland was the head of sales for the Miami-based art and tech gallery, Superblue. Newland could not be reached for comment, though told The Times: “It’s all being worked out at the moment. It’s been taken care of.”
A full hearing is scheduled for November. In the meantime, Newland is on £250,000 bail and is under nightly curfew with an electronic tag.
Newland reportedly met Philbrick in around 2010 at London’s White Cube gallery, where Newland worked in the finance department. Philbrick was just an intern at the time, though the gallery’s owner, Jay Jopling, was so impressed by him he helped Philbrick launch his secondary market business, Modern Collections, in 2013.
According to Companies House, Newland worked as a director of Modern…
