Woman in fake art scam gets 7 years in prison

LA CANADA, Calif. Kristine Eubanks, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, who called the fraud scheme "audacious in its scope" and "blatantly illegal."

Prosecutors say Eubanks sold fake art, including works purported by Picasso, Dali and Chagall, on a rigged televised art auction.

The program was carried on both DirecTV and The Dish Network.

The scam used a company called Fine Art Treasures Gallery as a front. Investigators say the scam brought in well over $20 million dollars from more than 10,000 victims across the country.

The charges included mail fraud, wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property, and to filing a false income tax return. Eubanks and her husband, Gerald Sullivan, 54, ran the scheme from 2002 through 2006.

Sullivan has already pled guilty to his part in the scam and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Investigators seized $3.8 million dollars from the couple's bank account. They are still in the process of notifying thousands of potential victims that they may have purchased bogus artworks.

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