Wendy Halsted Beard, a Michigan art dealer, was arrested earlier this month and charged with allegedly defrauding seniors out of more than $1.6 million in profits from the sale of art works. art they had in his gallery in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham, including The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park by Ansel Adams. Photo courtesy of FBI/Court Papers
October 22 (UPI) — A Michigan art dealer was arrested earlier this month and charged with allegedly defrauding seniors out of more than $1.6 million in profits from the sale of artwork they owned in his gallery in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham.
Wendy Halsted Beard, owner and operator of the Wendy Halsted Gallery, was arrested by FBI agents on October 14 and charged with wire fraud and mail fraud, the FBI said in a statement on Friday as it searched for potential victims. .
Investigators said Beard took fine art photographs on consignment and sold them while pocketing the profits. She was also accused of selling artwork to a victim but never delivering it after receiving payment.
Court documents obtained by UPI show Beard posted $10,000 bond the day of his arrest. It was not immediately clear whether she had since been released.
The FBI alleged in court documents that Beard, who inherited his father’s gallery, had been running his scheme to defraud victims since 2017. His father, Thomas Halsted, died in 2018.
The investigation into Beard began when the Birmingham Police Department received several complaints alleging that the art dealer had never returned photographs by the end of the submission period. Birmingham police forwarded the complaints to the FBI.
“Throughout the investigation potentially dozens of victims were identified, this affidavit highlights only a few of these victims’ interactions with Beard,” an FBI agent wrote in the court documents.
Artwork sold by Beard included a “wall-sized” photograph by Ansel Adams titled “The Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, 1942”.
It was nearly $1 million in fine art photographs taken on consignment by an 82-year-old victim, identified in court documents as Victim 1.
The photograph reportedly sold for $440,000 and was previously appraised at $625,000 in 2016.
The victim provided the FBI with emails in which Beard said she took the print to try to sell it in Jackson, Wyoming, but was unsuccessful.
When the consignment period expired, Beard signed a consignment agreement with a gallery in Jackson to sell the print, which the gallery purchased on behalf of a private collector, the FBI said.
Bank statements show an interstate wire transfer of $440,000 was sent for the purchase in June 2020.
The print changed hands a few more times before finally being purchased by a private client for $685,000 to be displayed at their residence in Idaho.
“According to Victim 1, they were never notified by Beard of the sale of their photograph of Ansel Adams, and they subsequently never received the proceeds of the sale,” the court documents state.
“Victim 1 made several attempts to have his photographs returned by Beard, who provided Victim 1 with an apology as to why the artwork could not be returned. Beard’s lung health.”
Court documents show Beard used alias email accounts claiming to be gallery assistants when she allegedly claimed to have undergone a double lung transplant as an excuse not to return the artwork to the owner.
“Several victims reported receiving messages from these email accounts with statements claiming that Beard was in hospital or in a coma and could not be contacted directly,” the FBI agent wrote in the comments. court documents.
“Based on my experience and training, I believe Beard created these and other fictitious assistants and email addresses as part of the fraud and to create sympathy for her victims and justify why she didn’t did not return their works of art.”
The FBI said in court documents there was no record of Beard ever having been the recipient of any given organ.
Beard is also charged with stealing a photograph of Ansel Adams after it was taken on consignment by an 89-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease, prosecutors said.
This victim, identified as Victim 2, had also given Beard pictures of other high-profile artists, including Ion Zupco, Arnold Newman and Jerry Uelsma.
When the victim sought to retrieve the photographs, Beard dropped the photographs off at a local framer to be framed. When the victim’s family received the photos from the framers, they noticed his signature was missing from the signed photograph of Ansel Adams, titled “Tenaya Creek.”
“In addition, a second image claiming to be a photograph signed by Ansel Adams titled ‘Siesta Lake Portfolio’ was, in reality, an entirely different Ansel Adams photograph known as ‘Moon and Half Dome,'” court documents.
Birmingham Police Department detectives interviewed Beard at her home in May and she agreed to return the two photographs of Ansel Adams to Victim 2.
“Beard entered another room in Beard’s residence and retrieved three wrapped and framed photographs, insisting they were the missing photographs belonging to Victim 2,” the court documents state.
“The detective unpacked the photos, determined they were still incorrect photos, and left without taking any photos.”
Beard filed two photographs with Birmingham police in June, which were sent to the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite, California, for authentication. The gallery said the two prints of the images it provided were reproduction prints that could be purchased from its gift shop for $375 each.
The FBI obtained records from Paypal that show Beard purchased a photograph titled “Tenaya Creek, Dogwood, Rain – Unframed/No Color” from the Ansel Adams Gallery for $405.26.
The FBI added that many other victims were interviewed by FBI agents as part of the investigation.
“During this investigation, over 100 rare fine art photographs with an estimated combined value of approximately $1.6 million were identified as consigned to Beard and not returned or sold to victims without being delivered,” show the court documents.
“Bank statements and other business records indicate there are likely more victims who have not yet been interviewed.”
Those who may be victims or have additional information about potential fraud involving this defendant are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online.