A British art dealer, who worked as an adviser to convicted fraudster Inigo Philbrick, is facing extradition to the US for allegedly supplying forged documents.
Art dealer Robert Newland has been charged with providing the false documents to help Philbrick – who was born and worked extensively in the UK, but is a US citizen – con investors out of £68 million.
Philbrick was imprisoned for seven years last month, after being found guilty of defrauding clients in one of the art world’s biggest criminal lawsuits in decades. Philbrick sold the same works of art to multiple investors and used the works as collateral on loans. This scheme funded a high-flying lifestyle, which came crashing down when he was arrested on the pacific island of Vanuatu in June 2020.
Inigio Phillbrick
It was revealed that Newland was a suspect in February this year, when an indictment against him was unsealed by New York’s Southern District Court.
The full hearing is scheduled for November, while Newland is presently out on £250,000 bail, and living under a nightly curfew with an electronic tag.
Speaking to The Times, Newland said: “It’s all being worked out at the moment. It’s been taken care of.”
Newland and Philbrick met around 2010 while both working at London’s White Cube gallery. Jay Jopling, White Cube’s owner, was so impressed by Philbrick that he helped him launch his secondary market business, Modern Collections.
According to Companies House, Newland worked as a director of Modern Collections from 2014 until he resigned in December 2016.
