Basquiat Forgery Scheme Uncovered in Museum Display.

An auctioneer from California, Michael Barzman, has admitted to creating between 20 and 30 fake paintings that he sold as authentic Jean-Michel Basquiats. Many of these paintings ended up in an exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art. Barzman worked with another person, identified as JF, to create the works, with JF spending just five to 30 minutes on each. Barzman created false provenance documents to back a story that the paintings had been sold to a screenwriter, who kept them in a storage unit whose contents Barzman bought. Barzman is now facing up to five years in prison on a charge of lying to the FBI.