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64 year old Australian dealer Ronald Coles has finally been arrested and charged with 87 art fraud offenses amounting to losses of over $8 million, Art Info reports. For more than 30 years, Mr Coles specialised in fine art by some of Australia’s most celebrated artists, including Arthur Streeton, Eugene von Guerard, Brett Whiteley and Lindsay. Ronald Coles Investment Gallery once claimed an annual turnover of $20 million. The dealership closed two years ago after at least 43 clients came forward discovering that the art they thought they owned was either a forgery or was co-owned with four or five other people. During a police raid in 2009 contemporary artist Ken Knight was surprised to find his own artworks (modestly priced at $3,500) with the signature of Arthur Streeton and a subsequent price tag of half a million dollars. Coles also allegedly sold 30 paintings without the consent of the owners of the works. Coles has been charged with 77 counts of larceny and 10 counts of fraud as an art dealer. He faces up to ten years in jail. (Flash Art)
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