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How New Jersey father-daughter art fraudsters passed off $2M Picasso, Warhol, Banksy forgeries to galleries

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 1441 words · By Michael Kaplan
criminal justice Art Forgery Financial Fraud
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What to know about criminal justice

How New Jersey father-daughter art fraudsters passed off $2M Picasso, Warhol, Banksy forgeries to galleries See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 15
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How New Jersey father-daughter art fraudsters passed off $2M Picasso, Warhol, Banksy forgeries to galleries See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleThe art was fake, but the sentencing will be very real for a father-daughter art scam team from Poland.

Common ground

Between 2020 and 2025 Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska hustled fake works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Native American Luiseño artist Fritz Scholder, and others across New York.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/how-new-jersey-father-daughter-art-fraudst…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 5
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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Claim 1: “A counterfeit Banksy printed on carboard, showing a military helicopter with a bow tied to it... sold for $2,000.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general scheme is corroborated, the specific details about a Banksy on cardboard with a helicopter and bow selling for $2,000 were not found in the provided evidence snippets; the search results provided for this claim discussed general Banksy forgeries or unrelated Italian rings.
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web search NEUTRAL — #banksy #StreetArt #graffiti #ARTIn this video I want to show you the best works of the most famous street artist in the world-BANKSY.Who is Banksy?Banksy is...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSsjC-F9bwk
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Italian authorities dismantle a forgery network selling fake works attributed to Banksy, Warhol, Picasso, and Miró, averting $215 million in potential losses.
https://www.occrp.org/en/news/italian-authorities-charge-38-…
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web search NEUTRAL — A work by Banksy on display in Glasgow. Police in Italy have seized more than 2,100 fake pieces, some purporting to be by the British artist. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Media.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/11/huge-network-f…
schedule
Claim 2: “As they are not citizens they will face deportation to Poland afterward.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 3: “The father and daughter pleaded guilty and are facing a maximum of 20 years in prison each, plus restitution of at least $1.9 million.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “they sold more than 200 artworks in what the US Attorney’s Office has since characterized a “Prolific Counterfeit Art Scheme,” which generated at least $2 million.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent news sources confirm the US Attorney's Office characterized the operation as a 'Prolific Counterfeit Art Scheme' involving over 200 artworks and generating at least $2 million.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dr. Oscar Kashala Lukumuena (born August 4, 1954) is a Congolese-American scientist, clinical researcher, and senior executive in the biopharmaceutical industry in the US. He is a politician in the De…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Kashala
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... ... US Attorney's Office has since characterized a “Prolific Counterfeit Art Scheme,” which generated at least $2 million. Advertisement. Among ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/how-new-jersey-father-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 6, 2026 ... Or swindling art lovers out of millions, passing off forgeries as the real thing. That seems to be how Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYAszltvHDB/
+ 1 more evidence source
help
Claim 5: “There is an LLC called Art Sector registered to Karolina Bankowska located in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding an LLC called Art Sector registered to Karolina Bankowska in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
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Claim 6: “One work presented by the pair as a genuine Warhol featured a nude man and a woman gazing at each other, which sold for $5,500.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm a forged Warhol depicting a nude man and woman sold for $5,500.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Andy Warhol ( ; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist and filmmaker. Widely regarded as the most important artist of the second half of the 20th century, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!! <3 (stylized in all caps, and more commonly shortened to Fuck U Skrillex or FUS) is the fourth studio album by American record producer Skrillex. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuck_U_Skrillex_You_Think_Ur_A…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by Andy Warhol during the 1960s and 1970s. They spent time with Warhol at his studio the Factory, appeared in his films, and acc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhol_superstars
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “Among well-known auction houses that are said to have been targeted: Bonham’s, Phillips and Freeman’s.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly list Bonhams, Phillips, and Freeman's as auction houses targeted in the scheme.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 · Several other auction houses targeted in the scheme – including Bonhams, Phillips, Freeman's and Antique Arena – either declined or did not ...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/30/father-daugh…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 30, 2026 · Several other auction houses targeted in the scheme, including Bonhams, Phillips, Freeman's and Antique Arena, either declined or did not ...
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/30/g-s1-119482/how-a-father-and-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 · Among well-known auction houses that are said to have been targeted: Bonham's, Phillips and Freeman's. The biggest earning fake, presented ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/how-new-jersey-father-…
help
Claim 8: “Representatives for abstract realist Raimonds Staprans suspected a painting of his, “Triple Boats,” which had been put up for auction, was fake.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding Raimonds Staprans or the painting 'Triple Boats'.
schedule
Claim 9: “the painting sold for $60,000. Afterwards, the FBI got involved”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 10: “the pair used design software to create forged certificates of authenticity which were imprinted onto aged paper and affixed to the counterfeit works, court papers show.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the use of design software to create forged certificates of authenticity printed on aged paper.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 · ... used design software to forge certificates of authenticity which they printed onto aged paper to make it look more authentic. Then they sold ...
https://www.facebook.com/NYPost/videos/the-latest-from-ny-po…
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 28, 2026 · Erwin Bankowski, 50, and his daughter, Karolina Bankowska, 26, teamed up with an art forger in Poland to sell more than 200 fake pieces between ...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dad-daughter-admit-forge…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 · Alongside that, the pair used design software to create forged certificates of authenticity which were imprinted onto aged paper and affixed ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/how-new-jersey-father-…
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Claim 11: “Between 2020 and 2025 Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska hustled fake works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Native American Luiseño artist Fritz Scholder, and others across New York.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska sold forged works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, and Fritz Scholder in New York between 2020 and 2025.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 28, 2026 ... Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska, of New Jersey, commissioned a Polish artist to create counterfeit artworks that sold for a total of ...
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/nyregion/banksy-fakes.htm…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... Between 2020 and 2025 Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska hustled fake works attributed to Andy ... Fritz Scholder, and others across New York ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/31/us-news/how-new-jersey-father-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 29, 2026 ... Between 2020 and 2025, Erwin Bankowski, 50, and Karolina Bankowska, 26, sold more than 200 artworks wrongly attributed to the likes of Andy ...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-father-and-daugh…
schedule
Claim 12: “she has already secured over $700,000 toward restitution”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 13: “The biggest earning fake, presented as being a work by Richard Mayhew, sold for $160,000.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources confirm a forged work presented as being by Richard Mayhew sold for $160,000.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard Mayhew (born 24 June 1985 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a rugby union player for Yorkshire Carnegie in the RFU Championship. He plays as a flanker or a number 8. Mayhew started out playing rugb…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mayhew_(rugby_union)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard is a masculine given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic *rīk- 'ruler, leader, king' and *hardu- 'strong, brave…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Richard Mayhew (April 3, 1924 – September 26, 2024) was an American landscape painter, illustrator, and arts educator, of Native and African American descent. His abstract, brightly colored landscapes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mayhew
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 14: “The works were produced by a deft artist in Poland commissioned by the father and daughter, it emerged in court.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the pair commissioned a Polish artist to create the counterfeit works.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Polish Figure Skating Championships (Polish: Mistrzostwa Polski w łyżwiarstwie figurowym) are an annual figure skating competition organized by the Polish Figure Skating Association (Polish: Polsk…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Figure_Skating_Champion…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — With the global art market valued at $57.5 billion , art forgeries remain a lucrative business. In October 2025, authorities in Germany shuttered an international forgery ring accused of producing fak…
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-father-and-daugh…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Erwin Bankowski and Karolina Bankowska, of New Jersey, commissioned a Polish artist to create counterfeit artworks that sold for a total of over $2 million.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/nyregion/banksy-fakes.htm…
+ 1 more evidence source
schedule
Claim 15: “Karolina and Erwin were arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy and misrepresentation of Native American produced goods and products”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.