The $86M scam that landed art dealer Inigo Philbrick in prison

Inigo Philbrick may be a thief, but at least he’s honest.

The former London art dealer, who was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to a criminal charge of wire fraud, didn’t hold back last year when a Manhattan federal court judge asked why he had defrauded clients out of some $86 million.

“For the money, your honor.”

The 33 year-old will be locked up for scamming buyers and stealing multi-million-dollar artworks by the likes of Donald Judd, Christopher Wool and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was caught in the South Pacific following a six-month-long FBI manhunt

Despite the honesty, “He exhibited a total lack of remorse,” attorney Judd Grossman, who is representing multiple clients in civil suits tied to Philbrick, told The Post.

For a while, the slippery dealer — born in Connecticut, schooled in London — legitimately sold art out of a gallery in that city’s tony Mayfair neighborhood as well as in Miami.

But his aspirations grew faster than his wallet could keep up with.

Philbrick lived an extravagant lifestyle with his fiancée Victoria Baker-Harber.

Philbrick wore $50,000 watches, $5,000 suits and custom-made shoes. If you dined with him at Cipriani in London, there was no need to wait for a check; the dashing art dealer maintained a house account.

His was also a high-flying world: According to New York magazine, Philbrick reportedly kept supplies of MDMA handy, rented a…

Read more…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *