£30K ART CON MAN TO PAY £1
ART FRAUDSTER HAS NO ASSETS, COURT TOLD
A jailed con man who pocketed more than £30,000 by selling forgeries and fakes of renowned painter Norman Cornish’s work has been ordered to pay back just £1.
Richard Pearson caused destabilisation in the international market when he flooded the art world with paintings and drawings purported to be by”pitman painter” Cornish, who died in 2014.
The 56-year-old fraudster had convinced the owners of a gallery in Corbridge, Northumberland, that he had access to a collection of Mr Cornish’s artworks through inheritance and via a friend who wanted to sell his personal collection.
Pearson, of Thomas Street North, Sunderland, passed off a series of 14 drawings and pictures, which left the gallery owners who bought them thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Four of the fakes were sold on to private collectors.
At Newcastle Crown Court in January, Pearson was put behind bars for three years and seven months.
The con man has now been back in court, via video link to prison, for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.
Prosecutor Neil Pallister told the court Pearson’s personal finances have been investigated and the conclusion is he has nothing.
Mr Pallister said: “The total benefit figure, which is not disputed, is the sum of £31,650.
“A financial investigator has made inquiries and has come to the conclusion there are no available assets.
“The application is for a confiscation order to be made in the form of a nominal order of £1.”
Paul Currer, defending, said Pearson has settled into prison life and is trusted to provide a teaching service to other inmates.
Judge Edward Bindloss said: “I declare that following a rigorous financial in- vestigation, no assets have been found to be available to this defendant.”
The judge warned that if Pearson comes into any cash, the sum of up to £31,650 could still be seized from him.
All of the artwork put into circulation by Pearson has been seized and will be destroyed by the police.
At a previous hearing in January, the court heard Pearson, who has previous convictions for dishonesty, initially told “lies, lies and more lies”.
He later pleaded guilty to nine charges of fraud, two of forgery and two of using a false instrument with intent between December 2011 and February 2014.
Judge Edward Bindloss sentenced Pearson to three years and seven months.
“No assets have been found to be available” JUDGE BINDLOSS