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ST. LOUIS, Apr 5, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A man who posed as a Saudi sheik to sell a fake Rembrandt painting to an undercover FBI agent has been sentenced to prison for his role in the scam.
A U.S. federal court judge in St. Louis on Tuesday sentenced Majed Ihmoud, 53, of St. Charles, Mo., to five months of in prison and five months of home confinement, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Ihmoud pleaded guilty in October to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the attempted sale last August of a fake copy of "Man with the Golden Helmet."
When Ihmoud tried to cash the $2.8 million check, he was informed he was the subject of an FBI sting.
Ihmoud also reportedly admitted selling a pair of brass doors that he falsely claimed once belonged to boxer Muhammad Ali.
Prosecutors also charged he arranged for artists to study Van Gogh paintings in St. Louis to paint forgeries.
The fake Rembrandt case also resulted in the arrest of Wisconsin art dealer Marilyn Karos, who already is imprisoned for possessing stolen art, authorities said.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
