Father Daughter Forger Family's 2mil hobby
A father-and-daughter team allegedly flooded the art market with convincing fakes—proving that forgery can be a family business.
Most families bond over holidays or shared hobbies. According to federal prosecutors, Erwin Bankowski and his daughter Karolina bonded over fake Warhols, Banksys, and Wyeths. The New Jersey pair pleaded guilty in April 2026 to orchestrating a forgery scheme that infiltrated some of the art world's most respected auction houses. Prosecutors say the operation relied on an artist in Poland to produce convincing imitations of works by Andy Warhol, Banksy, Andrew Wyeth, Richard Mayhew, Fritz Scholder, and others. The paintings were then given fabricated histories, complete with forged gallery stamps and carefully crafted provenance designed to make them appear authentic. Rather than copying the artists' most recognizable masterpieces, the scheme focused on lesser-known works—pieces that collectors and auction specialists might be less likely to recognize immediately. It was a simple strategy: if everyone knows Marilyn, paint something else. The operation allegedly generated nearly $2 million in fraudulent sales. One counterfeit attributed to Richard Mayhew sold for $160,000 before questions about its authenticity emerged. Another forged Wyeth nearly made its way to auction after being presented to a New York dealer as a long-forgotten family heirloom. Fortunately, something about the gallery stamp seemed just a little too perfect. Ironically, one forged stamp bore the name of M. Knoedler & Co., the legendary New York gallery that closed in 2011 after its own multimillion-dollar forgery scandal. In this case, the fake provenance contained a tiny historical mistake: it used an address format that hadn't existed since the early 1960s—a detail sharp-eyed experts quickly noticed. The case serves as another reminder that convincing forgeries don't always fool people because they're brilliantly painted. Sometimes they succeed because their paperwork is even more convincing than the artwork. In the art world, provenance is supposed to tell a painting's life story. Unfortunately, some of the best stories turn out to be fiction.