CHICAGO — John Garcia, 53, of Schererville, Ind., is behind bars on a federal wire fraud charge, accused of hawking priceless stolen artwork looted from a north suburban storage unit in a brazen multi-year grift.
From February 2020 to early August 2020, Garcia — who also uses the aliases “John Adams,” “John Adamino,” and “Michael Chapman” — allegedly orchestrated a scheme to sell off 159 high-end items, including paintings, sculptures, and luxury rugs, all taken from a storage facility in Deerfield, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court.
The theft came to light in May when the rightful owner discovered the items missing and alerted the FBI. Investigators traced the illicit art trail to Garcia, who allegedly conspired with an unnamed accomplice to pass off the stolen goods as their own, brokering secret deals with art and antique dealers across the region — raking in thousands of dollars in illicit cash.
Authorities moved fast. Court-authorized raids on a Highland Park residence and a storage unit leased by Garcia in Orland Park turned up a trove of the stolen property. The FBI has since recovered many of the pieces, though some remain unaccounted for as the probe continues.
Garcia was arrested August 7, 2020, and remains locked up in federal custody. A detention hearing is scheduled for August 13, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah. He faces one count of wire fraud, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Guzman, under the watch of John R. Lausch, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Emmerson Buie, Jr. As always, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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