After stealing and selling paintings from a German museum, the man uses the profits to finance a luxurious lifestyle
A German museum employee swapped a painting for a fake and then sold the original to buy luxury goods, including a Rolls Royce and expensive watches. The information comes from CNN.
The 30-year-old, who remains anonymous due to German privacy laws, was also convicted of stealing three other works of art. He avoided prison, but received a 21-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay the museum more than 60,600 euros (about R$322,000).
The Munich District Court took into account the fact that the man confessed and showed “genuine remorse”. He stated that he acted without thinking and that today he can no longer explain his behavior. The man, employed at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, worked in collections management from May 2016 to April 2018.
During this time he stole Franz von Stuck’s “Das Märchen vom Froschkönig” (The Story of the Frog Prince), replaced it with a fake, and auctioned the original. He lied to a Munich auction house, saying the painting belonged to his grandparents or great-grandparents. It was later sold to a Swiss gallery for 70,000 euros (about R$372,000) and the man received almost 50,000 euros (about R$265,500) in cash, after auction costs.
He also stole three more paintings from the museum’s warehouse and successfully sold two of them: “Die Weinprüfung” (The Wine Test) by Eduard von Grützner and “Zwei Mädchen beim Holzsammeln im Gebirge” (Two Girls Gathering Wood in the Mountains) by Franz von Defregger. One of the works was sold at auction and the other was purchased directly from the auction house, earning an additional 11,490 euros (approximately R$61,000).
The man used the money to pay off debts and finance a “lavish lifestyle”, the court said, adding that the defendant shamelessly exploited the opportunity to access the deposits and sold valuable cultural assets to secure a high standard of living and showing off.
The Deutsches Museum told CNN it is trying to recover the paintings. In an email, a spokesperson said the museum is trying to reverse the sales and that one of the paintings is already in police possession. The spokesperson added that the area from which the paintings were stolen was “basically quite safe” and that the museum had carried out a background check on the man, who had no criminal record at the time.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
