CRIME NEWS: Todd Andrew Desper, a/k/a ‘Mordokwan,’ faces federal charges for an alleged scheme to sell stolen art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on Craigslist.
BOSTON – The 47-year-old West Virginia man was arrested today and charged with wire fraud and attempted wire fraud. His arrest came after he solicited buyers for paintings, including Rembrandt’s Storm on the Sea of Galilee and Vermeer’s The Concert, in international cities like Venice and London.
Desper directed interested parties to communicate via encrypted email, leading authorities to believe he was involved in a multi-million-dollar fraud. He is accused of instructing a security director at the Gardner Museum to send a cashier’s check for $5 million to West Virginia in exchange for the art, though it was later revealed that Desper had no actual access to the stolen paintings.
The original theft from the Gardner Museum occurred on March 18, 1990, when two men dressed as Boston police officers stole 13 pieces of artwork, including the aforementioned masterpieces. The combined value of the stolen art is estimated at $500 million.
Desper’s initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia is scheduled for tomorrow morning, with a federal court appearance in Massachusetts on June 9, 2017. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and FBI Special Agent in Charge Harold H. Shaw announced the charges today, with assistance from various law enforcement agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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