Daniel Bouaziz, a South Florida art dealer, was sentenced Tuesday to two years and three months in prison for selling fake paintings.

Bouaziz, a French citizen born in Algeria, is in the United States on a B-2 visitor visa that prevents him from owning and operating the gallery, prosecutors said, who argued that the works he presented as genuine were cheap reproductions that could be buy. through online auctions.

On the gallery owner’s website, he advertised and sold collections from the most famous artists, from Monet and Rodin to Basquiat and de Kooning.

In February, the 69-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, while prosecutors agreed to drop 16 other counts of fraud and embezzlement. The man was fined $15,000.

Prosecutors said Palm Beach County owner Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli sold counterfeit art to a buyer in October 2021, including works believed to be Warhol’s. He also sold fake paintings by Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse and Keith Haring.

In April 2021, the gallery owner offered a client a deal to purchase four original works by the above artists for $290,000. According to federal prosecutors, the deal was too good to be true.

Bouaziz furthermore sold the reproduction as a genuine Warhol to an unsuspecting buyer for $85,000, and also sold the Basquiat work for $140,000. As for the “gallery owner”, he laundered the money of his victims, with which he bought Cartier watches, Lamborghini and a collection of limited edition weapons.