San Francisco Art Dealer Indicted in Fake Miró Scam

Life changed dramatically for 69-year-old Pasquale Iannetti last Thursday, August 20, as this was this day that a federal grand jury indicted the San Francisco art dealer of charges relating to dealing fake prints of Joan Miró. Iannetti operates a trendy Union Square gallery, Pasquale Iannetti Art Galleries, on Sutter Street. He was formally indicted of seven counts of wire fraud and eight counts of mail fraud for allegedly shipping the fake Mirós in a scam set up with Elio Bonfiglioli, an Italian citizen. Investigators allege that Iannetti sold seven fake Miró prints during a three-year period for prices ranging from $3,600 to $17,902. Iannetti has enlisted the legal council of Alan Dressler, who said that his client will enter a not guilty plea. “Mr. Iannetti has been a respected and beloved member of the San Francisco art community for over 40 years,” Dressler commented. There are three other art galleries in San Francisco that are believed to have worked with Bonfiglioli, although they remained unidentified in the official indictment.

Via SF Gate