Scamfluencers - ENCORE | The Fine Art Fugitive

Episode Date: December 25, 2023

‘Tis the season for spending obscene amounts of money. That’s something superstar art dealer Inigo Philbrick excels at. In this re-run from last year, the art world hustler starts making big money “flipping” works of art. Before long, he’s selling shares of paintings to investors all over the globe, all while becoming known for his jet-setting and expensive taste. But when he makes too many promises he can’t keep, this art world svengali will lose it all. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, Pride members, you can listen to scamfluencers early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. It's a holiday season, and you know what that means. Everyone's spending truly excessive amounts of money. Sachee, what have you spent the most money on this month? I bought a laser for my face. I bought a face laser. Oh, yes.

Yeah. Brilliant. Well, on this show, people are always blowing insane amounts of money on things like yachts, private jets, and designer clothes. It's all pretty standard, but the thing I'm always shocked about is how much money people spend on art, which I feel like it's such a risk how do you know if it's a good or not or if it's valuable. And the episode I think illustrates that the most for me is the one that we originally aired last year.

It's got everything you could want for the holidays. Art Basel, MDMA, and foul mouth reality TV stars. This is The Fine Art Fugitive. Tis the season. I wonder who you are. Hi, Haggy. Hey, Sachi. OK, so what comes to your mind when you hear the words art scam? I think about a lot of art I have seen in my life

that I'm definitely like, this is not real art. This has to be a scam. And I think about forgery, people who are really, really good at forging art and fooling people for decades. Yeah. This week, the scam I'm gonna tell you about actually has nothing to do with forgery. It's a surprisingly complicated story

and it reminds us that it's actually a lot harder to pull off an art scam than you would think. lot harder to pull off an art scam than you would think. It's May 2019 and Christie's Auction House in Manhattan is packed for a big time auction. The crowd is buzzing. This auction features work from Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, my personal favorite, and Keith Haring.

Giant screens display the art while a fast-talking auctioneer works the room from his podium. 32-year-old Inigo Phil Brick is in the crowd, watching carefully. He's an art dealer with short, strawberry curls and a charming smile. And Sarah, he actually kind of looks like Ryan Philippi. Yeah, I'm looking at him and he definitely has like,

oh, look, he's very distinct looking. Yeah. Well, tonight, Inigo's here to sell a photorealistic painting of Pablo Picasso. It's one done by the Italian artist Rudolph Stingel. Sarah, take a look and tell me what you think. Wow, I mean, I would never think this is a painting. I would just think it's a photograph. I mean, I guess I've only ever seen like one photo of Picasso where he's like, bald. And in this one, you know, he has hair and he's wearing like a double-breasted suit

and has a cigar in his hand. It's intimate. It's a great portrait. But for Inigo, this painting is everything. He bought it for nearly $7 million, and he needs to sell it for a lot more so that he can pay back all of his investors. It's more than just his reputation on the line.

It's his bank account and his entire business model. Inigo weights seemingly tens as the auction begins. A royal lictin sign goes for $31 million. One of Warhol's silk screens of Elvis sells for 53 million, and a stainless steel rabbit by Jeff Coons goes for a record-breaking 91 million dollars. And then, the auctioneer announces the next item up for auction. It's Innegoes. A lot of 33 is a single of Picasso. 2012. We start the bidding at 4 million, 4 million, 200 thousand for the stingle.

Inigo is sweatin' bullets. He needs to make money on this sale, and he looks around waiting for a sea of paddles to rise. But this time, only a few do. All in all, the bidding for the stingle lasts less than a minute. And then, the gavel drops. You're all set. At 5.5. 9. You're on it. At $5.5, $9.36.

Well done. If you didn't catch that Sarah, that's $5.5 million. Add in the extra fees and taxes, and the final price is $6.5 million. I know that sounds like a lot of money for a painting, but it's not enough for Inigo because he needed it to sell for about twice as much in order to pay back his investors. Inigo is in the red and if he doesn't figure out how to recoup the money, his investors are going to start asking a lot of questions.

And the answers will unravel his roots. He's been defrauding the art world this entire time. fraughting the art world this entire time. From Wondry, I'm Sachi Cole, and I'm Sarah Hague. And this is Scam Fluencers. Come and give me your attention, I'll forever move my last determination. Speak us to our loving off you like a legend. Sarah, this is the kind of story that I love. It's all about a niche industry that's super exclusive,

really caddy, and brimming with uptight snobbs trying to show off. There's a lot of grifters in the art world, but I think Inigo takes the cake. He's a jet-setting art dealer with a habit of making promises he cannot keep. And when he crosses the wrong people, he'll lose everything. This is the fine art fugitive. Hello listeners, this is Mike Corey of Against the Odds.

You might know that I adventure around the world while recording this podcast. And over the years, I've learned that where I stay when I travel can make all the difference. Airbnb has been my go-to place for finding the perfect accommodations. Because with hotels, you often don't have the luxury of extra space or privacy. Recently, I had a bunch of friends come down to visit in Mexico. We found this large house and the place had a pool, a barbecue, a kitchen, and a great big living room to play cards. Watch movies and just chill out. It honestly made all the difference

in the trip. It felt like we were all roommates again. The next time you're planning a trip, whether it's with friends, family, or yourself, check out Airbnb. To find something you won't forget. Alice and Matt here from British Scandal. Matt, if we had a bingo card, what would be on there? thing you won't be out of a job anytime soon. Follow British scandal wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let's go back to 2013 when Ingo's career really starts to take off. He's just 24 years old, and he's about to open his own gallery,

named after himself, of course. It's in the heart of one of London's most upscale neighborhoods. And inside, the white gallery walls are covered in modern art. I can just picture the opening reception, a tasteful cheese selection, healthy pores of red wine. It's the kind of parties you go to every weekend, right, Sarah?

The kind of parties that do not exist in my world. Yeah, correct. I am also not invited to those events, but, Sarah? The kind of parties that do not exist in my world. Yeah, correct. I am also not invited to those events, but I do think they exist. But the room is packed with some of the wealthiest, most well-connected art aficionados. Because Inigo isn't just any young galorist.

He's the protege of J. Jopling, a mega art dealer, an icon in the UK art scene. J is in his 50s, and as art dealers go, he's practically a celebrity. And now he's backing Inigo's new gallery, instantly making him someone to watch. Now, I don't know exactly what the opening was like, but I imagine that Inigo is there

with his stylish Argentinian girlfriend, Francisco Minchini. She's also an art dealer, and together they get to networking. Inigo is confident. He's got the pedigree to thrive in this world. He recently graduated from the prestigious Goldsmiths University of London with a curatorial studies degree. And after graduating, Inigo rose up the ranks

at White Cube, which is Jay's renowned London gallery. Inigo admires Jay's influence and success, and he might even look up to Jay as a kind of father figure. Inigo's actual dad is Harry Filbrick, a former director of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, where Inigo grew up. His mother, Jane, is an artist and a writer. His parents got divorced when Inigo was a teenager, and after that, Inigo and his father stopped talking. His mother and sibling later claimed that Inigo felt a responsibility to take care of them financially. He even paid his younger siblings way through college. This is a prime scammer, you know, someone who is knowledgeable enough about an industry, and is like, you know what, forget the steps.

Let me just go straight to the top somehow. Yeah, young, connected and motivated, I would say. Well, Inigo Mingles, talking what his favorite artists, stars like Rudolph Stingle, Christopher Wool, and Mike Kelly, he rattles off facts and figures about deep cuts from their catalogs. He specializes in flipping art, buying low and selling high, Kelly, he rattles off facts and figures about deep cuts from their catalogs. He specializes in flipping art, buying low and selling high, and he tries to do it as quickly

as possible to turn a profit. It's risky, but it's very lucrative, and no one does it quite like in a go. He's just so grash about it, so American. He talked about his approach to buying art on the Art Intelligence podcast. I believe in. Okay, back up. Ten steps. What is this cadence? What is this voice? He's like, I need to sound money. You don't like his Catherine F. for an impression? No, buddy, this guy's our age. You grew up watching Lizzie McGuire, bro.

Like, there's no way you talk like that. What is this? Yeah, it's a tough pill to swallow. I cannot soften this blow for you. Here's the thing. Inigo's confidence usually pays off, but it comes with a lot of pressure. And for Inigo, it's go big or go home. And now that he's officially on the London art scene, there's no way he's going home. Inigo knows that if you want to make it in this industry, you need to fly all over the world, attending art fairs and schmoozing. So in December 2014, a year after he opens his gallery, he jets off to Miami for art bozzle.

That's basically a week-long party where some of the most influential people in the fine art world rub elbows with celebrities like Andre 3000, Kim Kardashian, and Leonardo DiCaprio, Kenny's best known for his gossipy column on artnet.com. He's in his early 50s with overgrown stubble, rimless glasses, and he has so much energy. He's not just a critic.

Kenny is also an artist, and one of his favorite motifs is, you know what, Sarah, can you just look at this picture and then describe it to me? Well, it appears to be some type of ceramic elephant. Yeah. It's yellow and it's trunk is sucking its own dick. Yes, correct Sarah, thank you. It is an elephant blowing itself.

It's art. Accept it. Anyway, Kenny has been covering the art scene for years. And even though he considers himself an outsider, he's got a big platform and a fair amount of influence. His role as a professional know-it-all means that he can make and break artists and galleries. So, he's someone good for Inigo to know, as his own gallery starts actually becoming

a pretty big deal. Inigo's MO is to purchase artwork right before artists have a big museum showing. And then, after they get tons of press, he turns around and sells their pieces for serious profit. Art purists, they turn their noses up at such blatant cash grabs, but it is perfectly legal. Inigo also works with a tight crew of friends

and associates to regularly trade artworks by his favorite artists, which drives up the value of the work. And he's been known to recruit celebrities to dazzle other galleries and charm their way into buying art that Inigo would never be able to get his hands on otherwise, just to flip it and split the profits. Again, it's not illegal, but it's definitely shady. Since he makes his money on commissions, Inigo is working Wall Street broker hours and he's feeling the pressure.

At this point, it seems like he's living way beyond his means. He and Francisco have moved into a posh flat near his gallery, and his wardrobe is full of Italian suits and Swiss watches. He eats out at five star hotels and casually orders $5,000 bottles of wine. He needs to bring in some serious cash to keep up. And though Inigo's using every trick in the book, he still feels like he's drowning.

Luckily, Inigo knows just the right people to keep the good times rolling. In November 2015, Inigo sets up a meeting with a German couple named Daniel Tumple and Loretta Wurtenberger. He's a former investment banker and she's a former judge. But they also have backgrounds in art. Daniel's dad is a world-renowned Rembrandt scholar and Loretta founded a nonprofit to support young artists. And they run a company that provides financing to galleries and dealers.

In a goes not focused on selling to traditional collectors, people who buy art to hang in their house or loan to a museum, he sells to investors, people who just want to know what the art is worth in their portfolio. Daniel and Loretta are in both camps, but today they're leading towards the latter. They've done business with Inigo for years, but this time he's got a big ask. Inigo says he has his eye on a new piece.

It's the single painting of Pablo Picasso that I mentioned earlier. Inigo has been so successful at flipping stingles that he reportedly calls himself Stingled Damas. As he later tells the ArtElegance podcast, I've never heard somebody with a punchable voice. I know it's really something, you know, like everything he says sounds like he's insulting me. Ha, ha, ha. Well, Inigo tells Daniel and Loretta

that this particular single is worth $7.1 million and that its value is only going up. He gives them this pitch. What if they buy a stake in the painting? and that its value is only going up. He gives them this pitch. What if they buy a stake in the painting? Basically, they're all going in on the painting together. Daniel and Loretta will pay less than half upfront while still holding a 50% stake.

Plus, in a go, we'll let them own the painting outright until he sells it, which he promises to do within 18 months. At that point, they all split the profits down the middle. Daniel and Loretta think that steel is too good to pass up. So they say they're in for $2.5 million. You know, I am a rhub, I don't know much about art or things that cost millions of dollars. That being said, why would you do all that for these people?

It just, it sounds too good to be true for them. Like, what does he have to gain from that then? Well, Sarah, there is a reason that Inigo pitched them such a good deal. First of all, he lied about the value of the painting. He inflated it by more than $400,000. And secondly, Inigo turns right around and pitches another one of his clients, Alexander Pesco, on almost the exact same deal. Now, Alexander is a Serbian investor based in London.

He goes by Sasha and he's got deep-set eyes, square jaw, and dark wavy hair. And he's also got a soft spot for art, or more specifically, making money off of art. So when Inigo pitches the single painting to Sasha, he asks him to invest $3.4 million. That's nearly a million more than Daniel and the Red-a-Paid. They also think Inigo owns half, so that puts us at a hundred and fifty percent ownership. I'm not great at math, but I'm like pretty sure that that's not right. And Inigo is doing this with other paintings.

It's just a straight up Ponzi scheme. I mean, how does he get away with offering two people more than he has and still make money off it? Well, Inigo gets away with this because the art market is really unregulated. Like typically galleries don't have to report how much artwork sell for, and the only time sales numbers have to be shared is at auction.

And that makes it easy for Inigo to fudge the numbers. And as his confidence grows, so do the zeros on the price tag. And he's about to get a hell of a lot more brazen. Ethan Valerino is in his 20s with short hair, dark eyes, and dimples. He's the head of an investment group that finances art deals, including a wooden sculpture in the shape of the map of China by Iwayway. Inigo sells that piece at auction for more than $2 million in 2016. But settling accounts after auctions can take forever. So Ethan's firm fronts in a go the $2 million, at least until his account clears in a few months. It's a straightforward deal, the kind of thing they do all the time. Just the idea that rich people can do this with millions of

dollars is so angering. Yeah. It's like, okay, listen, you're good for the two million, right? Like you can pay that back. Sarah, rich people have different rules than the rest of us, you know that. Oh my God, that is so crazy. Well, months pass with no word from in and go. Ethan's calls to him go unanswered. And then the auction house tells Ethan

that there's actually damage to the sculpture, and the buyer doesn't want it anymore. Ethan thinks that's ridiculous. So, Ethan sues. Not long after, Ethan is at Sotheby's, and he spots Inigo leaving the showroom. Kenny, who writes about this later for Vulture, says that Ethan runs after Inigo, tailing him into a packed elevator. It's straight out of a movie. Except, Ethan does not confront Inigo in front of everyone else. He's just too much of a gentleman for all of that mess.

But I do like to imagine them waiting in awkward silence for what feels like an eternity until the door's open and Inigo books it out of the elevator and out of the building. He runs straight into the busy road dodging, uncommon traffic. He nearly gets ping pong between taxis like in Nietzsche Black, you know. That is such a beautiful reference for me specifically because I have watched I've seen a million times. Also, this guy knows who you are. You're going to see him. You've run in the same circles. Well, Sarah, it's not really clear how he manages this,

but Inigo never pays Ethan back. Oh my god, no, it's $2 million. I know, and it's gone. Oh, Inigo has won, at least for now. But he's playing a really dangerous game with millions on the line. And the next time someone confronts him, he might not make it out unscathed.

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Not long after the elevator incident, Inigo's on vacation in Italy with Sasha. And Inigo still owes Sasha money. He said he'd sell the single months ago, but so far, no dice. But hey, what's a little depth between friends, you know? So in the summer of 2016, Inigo and Sasha are sunbathing in Italy with Inigo's girlfriend, Francisco, whose pregnant. Inigo distracts Sasha from thinking about the single deal by, amazingly, proposing another purchase. He suggests that Sasha buy a stake in a basket painting called

humidity, that he says is worth $18.5 million, but really, it's only valued at roughly $12.5 million. Once again, Inigo plans on splitting the costs and the profits, except he needs help paying for his share of the painting. So Sasha agrees to loan him $3 million. And Inigo promises he'll get it all back and more when he flips the artwork. And Sasha's like, yeah, sure, why not? Sasha, my guy, you played yourself here, he really did. A few days later, Inigo purchases the Basquiat for $12.5 million, but he sends Sasha a fake bill of sale for $18 million,

and then he pockets the difference. And after that, Inigo sells another stake in the Basquiat to an art finance company. So now he has at least two investors on the line for more than 100% of the shares. And neither of them have any idea about the other one. That is so crazy. Yeah. He's turning into an art world made off and he's getting bolder by the day. At some point in 2017, when his mentor, Jay, starts pestering him about payment for the

sale of two works he sold years earlier, Inigo pulls a classic scammer move. He tells Jay that he sold the paintings to, quote, Argentine financier Martin Herrero. Except there is no Martin Herrero. So for a full year, Inigo uses a fake email address to communicate with Jay as Martin, giving him tons of excuses as to why the money just isn't coming. And we don't know exactly how much money is going in and out of his gallery and his pockets at this point, but it's a lot, likely more than $100 million, according to some estimates. And some of that profit is going back to his investors. It's just enough to keep them in his web. But when the market starts to cool off, he needs to drum up more business and fast.

to cool off, he needs to drum up more business and fast. It's April 2017 and Kenny Shactor boards a chartered private jet within a go. They're probably off to another art fair or auction in Paris or Milan or Hong Kong. Kenny is always down to jet off to glamorous locations within a go. By this point, Kenny has written some very, very flattering things about him. The relationship is mutually beneficial. Inigo feeds Kenny industry gossip, gets him into exclusive events, and even helps him make some money off-lipping paintings. So it's probably easy for Kenny to look the other way

when Inigo does some questionable things. But lately, Kenny's noticed that Inigo's getting, hmm, a little out of control. It seemed to start earlier this year, after Francisco gave birth to their daughter. Not long after that, Inigo left her for Victoria Baker Harbor, a socialite who starred on a TV show called Made in Chelsea, which is kind of like a British version of The Hills. That is truly something else. I know. Judging from Kenny's later writings,

he doesn't seem like Victoria's biggest fan, but she's rich and famous, and she's all about the glitz and glamor that Inigo loves. She's also quite the character on Made in Chelsea. Not being a big. Fucking open your fucking fat, fucking mouth, you fucking fat turkey. Yeah, they seem like a match made in heaven.

Yeah. But for now, Inigo is living a seemingly charmed life, invited to exclusive parties all over the world wearing the finest clothes and drinking the most expensive wines, even though he's a new dad with a complicated love life and a tremendous amount of debt. As the private jet takes off, I imagine Inigo pulling out a baggy of MDMA and offering Kenny some.

Kenny later writes that Inigo seemed to always have it on hand. And, at this point, it fits into his lifestyle. Inigo has started following a DJ named Marco Corolla, paying $25,000 for tables and nightclubs all over the world. Excuse me, why? For what? To me, this shows that for Inigo obviously has nothing to do with art, but it has everything to do with being accepted by people he thinks are cool.

And sadly, that includes a DJ. But Sarah, here's the thing. Despite his reputation as the gossip hound of the art world, Kenny keeps Inigo's behavior under wraps. In 2018, when Inigo opens a gallery in Miami, Kenny gives the new space a rave review in art news. And hilariously, Kenny writes that Inigo has, quote, kept a low profile, but he also says that Inigo's, quote, as cold-blooded as the best that ever was. This is insane. Like, we're talking about art here, you know?

Well, Kenny's not the only one starting to see the cracks in his friends facade. The strain is starting to get to Inigo and he won't be able to keep up the charade forever. On a quiet December morning in 2018, Inigo wakes up, probably with a raging hangover after another night of partying. It's art Basel time again,

and now that he has a gallery in Miami, it's like the whole art world came to party in his backyard. Inigo welcomes the distraction from his growing financial pressures. He's oversold way too many pieces of artwork and hasn't made nearly enough money back. All these paintings we've talked about so far, we're just scratching the surface of all the wheeling and dealing he's been doing. And he's faking sales and consignment contracts to cover his tracks. Sarah, he's nearly $20 million in the red and in total denial. This is so remarkable because this is all his fault.

Yeah, it's not like he got caught in a bad situation like some people do. Like, he made this happen. And for what? To hang out with a DJ? Well, all of this is clearly getting to him. Inigo jumps in the shower and he tries to wash away the dread. He's inigo filbert. He can handle anything.

He'll sell more paintings and everything will work out. So he starts saying his name over and over, pumping himself up. He's quiet at first, but then he gets louder. Until eventually, he's shouting at full volume. Inigo. Inigo. Inigo. Imagine being like, I'm inigo, Phil Brick.

That's a totally normal and respectable name, and I'm going to chant it. Well, this isn't a one time thing either. According to Kenny, Inigo takes to shouting his own name every single morning in the shower. So the pressure might be getting to him, just a little. And for the first time, Inigo is about to face some serious consequences. As the months go by, Inigo becomes more and more desperate while juggling all of his schemes. He's the most worried about Daniel Tuntwell,

the German investor who has been on his ass for months about selling the single painting. Inigo is setting up the Christie's auction for the piece, tap dancing around the fact that both Daniel and Sasha have each paid millions for the exact same painting, and the fact that both Daniel and Sasha have each paid millions for the exact same painting. And they both think they own it. They have no idea about each other. Which is bad enough, but Sarah, there's a third party we haven't even mentioned who also believes they own the whole thing. Guzini Partners and art investment company thinks they purchase the stingle from Inigo as well.

It's like Inigo is dating three different women and he's just hoping that none of them find out about the others. It's so insane. There's one piece of art. There are all these people who own it, who gave him money for this overvalued piece of art. Yeah, I know.

Inigo calms Daniel's nerves about the auction by sending him what appears to be a $9 million guarantee from Christie's. That means that if the stingle sells for anything less at auction, Christie's will cover the remaining balance. But Inigo is hoping the painting sells for close to $14 million. So that amount would mean that the guarantee wouldn't even need to come up. But then, at the Christie's auction in May of 2019, the single only sells for $5.5 million. And this is the scene where Inigo sweats through his very expensive suit.

Now, he has to fly into crisis management mode. How would he be able to manage his crisis? It's over? That's how much money he got for the painting. Yeah, well, it gets worse. After the auction, he strings Daniel along, assuring him that the guarantee from Christie's will kick in. But by September, Daniel's patience has run out. He contacts the auction house directly, and he finds out the truth, that the guarantee was faked.

And even worse, Daniel discovers that he doesn't even own the painting. According to Christie's records, Gzini owns the painting. I guess at this point, I'm wondering what in-ego thinks will happen, like how he would be able to get out of this in any case, because he knows the guarantee is fake. He knows he promised the money from this painting to multiple people and he's still hoping for some kind of miracle.

I would pay a lot of money to get into Inigo's head to understand it, but in the meantime, Daniel and Loretta are livid. They file a lawsuit and they ask Inigo to cough up seven other pieces of artwork that he's holding for them. But Inigo's already sold some of them to other buyers, or he used the works as collateral to get big fat loans without letting Daniel and the Red of No.

Desperate to buy himself time, Inigo takes a picture of himself in front of a blank wall at his Miami studio, holding the day's newspaper, like a hostage. blank wall at his Miami studio, holding the day's newspaper, like a hostage. And then he photoshopped in one of the paintings that he told Daniel and the Red A that he was holding on to for them. There's desperate, and then there's photoshopping paintings into your selfies. That is how bleak things are right now. Inigo is so arrogant. He probably did the worst Photoshop job and was like,

I don't believe it. Everyone's dumb, but me. Yeah. At this point, everyone inigo's built a good relationship with, and the art world is embroiled in this scam. The walls are closing in, and he's running out of options, except for one, going rogue. In October 2019, about five months after the auction,

Inigo cuts off contact with everyone. He shuts down his galleries in Miami and London, clearing all the art off the walls in the middle of the night. And then, he disappears, and partner of the National Football League. From game-winning drives to unbelievable catches, Bet MGM gives you the chance to take those highlight reel NFL plays to a whole new level. Bet MGM has something for every football fan, so you're sure to find a way to get off the bench and end to the huddle.

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And I feel like a... Like a... Kenny is totally shocked when his friend Inigo disappears without a trace. More than that, he's pissed. Because Inigo stiffed him too. Inigo promised to flip a painting for him, but according to Kenny, he took him for more than a million dollars. And meanwhile,

the lawsuits are piling up. Sasha sues Inigo and London, and even Gzeney jumps on the bandwagon. They're all pissed that they've been fleeced. And in November 2019, after Inigo doesn't show up to two court hearings, his assets are frozen. Can he post a fake wanted sign to Instagram? Sarah, can you please describe this fine work of art? Yeah, it's a photo of Inigo. He's wearing like a blue dress shirt with the top button unbuttoned. And at the top, it says $10,000 reward.

And below the photo, it says leading to,000 reward and below the photo it says leading to the arrest of Inigo Philbric. It is very intense and also you're like, this guy is willing to give someone $10,000? Well, yeah. And it kind of works because someone DMs him in response from an anonymous account. It's actually someone willing to defend in a go. And they say, in a go was, quote, a young man in an immense position of responsibility out of nowhere who wanted to make everyone happy and over-promised and under-delivered in the end, but to no personal benefit.

And in one of their DMs with Kenny, the anonymous account slips up and writes a response in the first person. Will you read it, Sarah? Of course I will. This is my favorite kind of thing. It's no big deal. I did nothing wrong and it will all be forgotten soon. You know what? When you were reading that first message, I was like, did an in-ego right this? It seems like it's in-ego. Okay. Well, we don't know that it was Inigo,

but obviously Kenny is convinced. He writes a searing article about his former friend in Artnet and he reprints the messages in full. But Kenny's also quick to flip his misfortune into an opportunity. Almost immediately, he starts shopping a screenplay about Inigo. And a few months later, in March 2020,

he publishes a brutal personal essay slash takedown about Inigo and Vulture. Inigo's lost a dear friend and his biggest champion. He has truly hit rock bottom. Sarah, you and I know, things can always get worse. Kenny's not the only arts writer obsessing over Inigo's disappearance. His colleague at Artnet,

Eileen Kinsella, has been hearing rumors about Inigo's whereabouts for months. But then, in May 2020, Inigo's fiancee Victoria posts a photo to her hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. It's her and her dog. She's in a bright pink shirt, standing barefoot on a white sand beach.

But Sarah, the post is geotacked. She's in Vanuatu, an island in the South Pacific, that just so happens not to have an extradition treaty with the US. I love that, like, she had to post on Instagram. She knows what her fiance is going through, but she's like, she had to post on Instagram. She knows what her fiance is going through, but she's like, I need to post. She needed to stunt on these hoes on Instagram.

I need to stunt on these hoes with this honestly quite mediocre photo. Yeah. And people from Vanuatu have started reaching out to Aileen, the art net writer as well. And as she told the art angle podcast, they had receipts. Somebody sent me a picture of him at the coffee shop. They said that he went there every morning and that he played tennis. He was constantly on his cell phone and that he and his friend, we're

just having a very leisurely life on the island. Apparently, Inigo had started volunteering at an animal rescue shelter and he even adopted a dog of his own. Although some locals told Eileen that he kept a low profile, they also said he couldn't help but brag about his status in the London art scene. Between Victoria's chronic postures disease and Inigo's inability to shut the hell up,

word gets around about this fugitives whereabouts. In June 2020, Fanua to expels Inigo at the request of the US Embassy of Papua New Guinea. He's arrested while strolling through a market and flip flops in a bathing suit. And by this point, Victoria is about five months pregnant. Inigo's hands are zip tied, and he's thrust into a Gulfstream

bound for the US territory of Guam. His time as a fugitive has finally come to an end. Thanks, in large part, to Instagram. And now, Inigo will finally have to fess up to his crimes. The Justice Department charges Inigo with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York calls Inigo a quote, serial swindler who misled art collectors, investors, and lenders out of more than $20 million. Inigo is facing more than 20 years in prison for his fraud scheme, and he's locked into maximum security prison in New York while he awaits trial. In November, Victoria gives birth to their daughter in a London hospital.

Because of the COVID restrictions, she can't have any family or friends in the room with her. She's completely alone. And Inigo reportedly doesn't find out about the birth of his daughter until four days later. And Inigo doesn't end up going to trial because in November of 2021, after nearly a year and a half in prison, he pleads guilty.

And in the time he's been locked up, authorities have uncovered even more fraudulent activity. At first, they thought that Inigo's scams racked up around $20 million, but it's actually more like $86 million. During his sentencing hearing, Inigo tells the judge that vanity and greed motivated him. Sarah, do you want to read a bit of a statement? Yeah, he says, the vanity of youth of early successes and the need to be seen as able, blinkered my judgment, perverted my abilities, and spoiled my accomplishments. The only goal I have is to make the people who believed in me whole,

to restore them to where they were before they met me. Okay, buddy, you can't do that, though. Like, do you have all that money to give back to them? No, you swindled them and you're never going to make that right. Yeah, it's all a little too late. But the judge does take Inigo's remorse into account. Victoria and a handful of his friends and family write letters to the court pleading for leniency.

Even his dad writes one saying that after years of a strange man, Inigo has reached out to reconnect. But the letters don't do much to sway the judge. He gives Inigo seven years in prison. It's one of the most severe punishments the art world has ever seen. As for the rest of his victims, they're still untangling the web of transactions Inigo

left behind. It could take years to figure out who actually owns much of the art that Inigo was involved with. Daniel wrote in a letter to the judge in Inigo's case that this fraud led to the quote, most horrendous and difficult years of his and LaReta's lives. And Kenny is still mad that he got swindled by Inigo. But on the art talk podcast,

he also blames an overheated market. I think that Indigo is in the end of the world that's going money crazy, where these lenders loan money to him without doing their due diligence and they just chucked money at him and he went off the rails for his own sad reasons. He's also still talking about writing that screenplay, and he's pivoted really hard into NFTs. At Idaqo's sentencing, the judge is clear that Idaqo's seven-year prison term is meant to send a signal to others in the art world.

Kenny's colleague, Gailene, says that investors looking to make a quick buck on art might think twice now. So high-flying art flippers all over the world can learn from in-ego. Play it straight or face the consequences. Or just be more careful and cover your tracks. Well, Sarah, where should we begin with this bougie burglar? I think this is such a wild story, especially because I feel like a lot of Ponzi scheme type scams never really feature anything tangible that you can really hold in your hands. Yeah.

But these are actual physical pieces of art where people could have double-checked the valuation of the art. It just kind of shows how someone who's co-signed and legitimized by the right people can kind of do whatever they want. Yeah. And the art world is just so murky. People don't really know what they don't know. And then also the art itself, it's all subjective, right? Who's to say one piece would be more valued than another? The context is important. The artist that did it is important. It just seems like a totally unregulated market full of people like throwing money around begging to be scanned. It has so much to do with people thinking about long-term value over like, oh, this is something beautiful that someone created and that I love, you know?

Yeah. It seems like he really took advantage of the type of people he knew he could take advantage of, which is incredibly wealthy people who could stand to lose $2 million, and it maybe wouldn't ruin their lives forever. Well, the other thing about it is, you know, Indigo did actually do a lot of legit deals. And so he was good at this. He just like could not get out of his own way. He wanted more.

It's just like another one of those stories about these guys who pushed their luck. And if they just did things legitimately, everything would have worked out and they probably wouldn't even had to have worked as hard to keep the scam going. Yeah, but I guess at the end of the day, like it wasn't even about being a big shot in the art world. It was about hanging out with the right people

and getting to date like a reality star that most of the world hasn't even heard about. And to hang out with a DJ like, you did all this for that. You know, he was addicted to the lifestyle and I don't think he's gonna go back into the real world and be like, okay, well, time to get a nine to five. Yeah.

Sarah, why does everyone who does a scam also have like a vaguely British accent? I think it's like, you know, it's a part of the whole lie of dissociating yourself from the reality of your world, of having a fake accent or having a fake job or declaring yourself to be this thing. It's this way to compartmentalize

who you really are versus what this weird world you created was. Because there's no way this guy has that accent. That blew my mind. Dude, you're from Connecticut. Well, what would your scammer accent be? Like, which one would you pick? Wow, that's a really good question. I think I would go like full Southern. We would get you some suspenders. Oh, dude, say, say, I think. Honestly, Haggy, if you showed up, a black woman in a hijab, and you started talking like Foghorn Leghorn,

I would give you whatever you asked. I know, right? Because I'd be like, there's no way. She knows something that I don't know. She can have all my money. I would do it. I think my lesson here is if you're a scammer, and again, we've seen this many a times,

pick a good accent. Pick an accent that confuses people just enough to give you a couple million. But makes you seem like established enough and mysterious enough that people are like yeah trust this person. Well it's time to brush up on your foghorn leghorn. I'm gonna watch a lot of loony tunes. Hey prime members you can listen to scam influencers add free on Amazon music. Hey, Prime members! You can listen to scam influencers, add free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen ad free with Wondery Plus and Apple

podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. This is fine art Fugitive. I'm Sachi Cole, and I'm Sarah Haggi. If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us at scamfulensorsatwondery.com. We use many sources in our research,

a few that were particularly helpful for the talented Mr. Philbric by Jacob Bernstein in the New York Times. In search of Inigo Philbric, the disappearing art dealer by Oliver Franklin Wallace in GQ, and the art world's mini made-off in me by Kenny Shactor and Vulture.

Alex Burns wrote this episode, additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Haggy, our senior producer is Jens Wan, our producer is John Reed, our associate producers are Charlotte Miller and Lexi Peary, Sarah Enne is our producer and our story editor. Allison Wyntrop is our story editor and our senior story editor is Rachel B. Doyle.

Sound Design is by James Morgan, fact checking by Gabrielle Drolley. Additional audio systems provided by Adrian Cappia, our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freeze On Sink. Our executive producers are Janine Cornelot, Stephanie Gens, and Marshal Louis for Wondering. Wondering. Hi there, I'm Guy Roz. And I'm Mindy Thomas. Wait. And we're the host of the number one podcast for curious kids and their grownups.

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