Information and Alerts

Government Actions

United States vs Daniel Bouaziz. Case number 22-cr-80099 S.D. Fla

As of May 30, 2023:

Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz was sentenced to 27
months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release,
for laundering money derived from his scheme to sell counterfeit
artwork. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon also ordered Bouaziz to
pay a $15,000 fine. The restitution hearing is set for August 16.

LINK: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/palm-beach-art-dealer-sentenced-federal-prison-laundering-money-art-fraud-scheme

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As of February 21, 2023:

Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz pled
guilty to laundering money derived from his scheme to sell
counterfeit artwork.

Bouaziz is the owner of art galleries in South
Florida, including Danieli Fine Art (at 226A Worth Avenue) and Galerie
Danieli (at 230 Worth Avenue), in Palm Beach County. According to the
agreed-upon factual proffer in support of Bouaziz’s guilty plea, Bouaziz
knowingly engaged in and attempted to engage in a transaction through a
financial institution affecting interstate commerce of over $10,000 in
money derived from the unlawful sale of counterfeit art in violation of
the wire fraud statute.

Bouaziz’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 30, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.
before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, in Fort Pierce.

LINK: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/palm-beach-art-dealer-pleads-guilty-laundering-money-art-fraud-scheme

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As of July 13, 2022:

Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz
was charged by Indictment with mail fraud, wire fraud, and money
laundering in connection with his alleged scheme to sell forged high-end
artwork.

The indictment alleges Bouaziz engaged in a scheme
to sell paintings and other artwork that he falsely marketed for sale
as original or authentic pieces by prominent artists, including
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Banksy, and Roy Lichtenstein.  The
indictment further alleges that the fraudulent art, that was purchased
from Bouaziz, was picked up from Bouaziz’s South Florida galleries,
mailed by commercial interstate carrier, and hand-delivered to Bouaziz’s
victims.  Bouaziz purchased and acquired pieces from various sources,
to include online auction sites at low prices, and falsely sold the
pieces as originals, at drastically increased prices, at his retail art
galleries on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida.  To make the
fraudulent art appear authentic, Bouaziz allegedly made false
representations to prospective buyers regarding the provenance and
originality of the art.  To support these false statements, it is
alleged Bouaziz, among other things: (1) provided prospective buyers
with invoices and documents that included false provenance information;
(2) omitted descriptors that were included with low-cost online
purchases, to include “after” and “reproduction” language; (3) sold
prospective buyers pieces on which false edition numbers and artists’
signatures had been added; and (4) provided prospective buyers with
certificates of authenticity that included false assertions and
appraisals which had a stamped signature block that read “Daniel
Bouaziz, Certified International Fine Art Appraiser.”

The indictment further alleges that Bouaziz
committed money laundering by engaging in transactions in criminally
derived property.

Bouaziz was previously charged in a criminal complaint under case number 22-mj-08209-RMM.

An indictment contains mere allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of
the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-80099.

LINK: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/palm-beach-art-dealer-indicted-charges-related-art-fraud-scheme