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Apr. 4--The man behind an Orlando auction last year of artwork from such masters as Renoir faces penalties at a hearing today in front of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Azam Khan could be fined or have his auctioneer's license suspended -- not based on complaints in Florida but because of legal troubles in Virginia, where records show he is based.
Virginia fined Khan $3,000 in 2002 and suspended his auctioneer's license for one year after officials said he ran deceptive ads about an estate auction in 1997 and failed to keep sales records as required by the state.
Florida officials said they began looking into Khan's record after the Orlando Sentinel made inquiries about him for an article last year. The Sentinel found that Khan, a man authorities identified as his brother and several of their companies had been disciplined around the country because of questionable auction practices.
"I'm glad they're finally doing something," said Georges Kaufman, who complained to the state after buying what he considered shoddy merchandise from one of Khan's companies, Trans-Cargo Atlantic, at a Tampa auction.
State regulatory officials would not say whether they are investigating Kaufman's complaint or another stemming from an auction the company held in South Florida.
Trans-Cargo Atlantic, which changed its name earlier this year to Tran Auctions Inc., is registered with a Eustis address that actually belongs to a pack-and-ship company.
Last year, Trans-Cargo held an auction at the Holiday Inn on International Drive in Orlando. It was advertised as a sale of furniture and fine artwork from masters including Renoir, Picasso and Matisse. The ads featured a photograph of a palatial mansion and said the merchandise was from the estate of a prominent attorney undergoing a divorce. There are no known complaints tied to that auction.
States often fine auctioneers based on troubles in other states, said Tommy Williams, vice president of the National Auctioneers Association.
Auctioneers travel around the country, Williams said, so a violation serious enough to warrant suspension in one state might cause others to take action.
"The auction community is . . . a very small community," he said.
Sandra Pedicini can be reached at spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 407-322-7669.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
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