Lisa Schiff's $6.5M Ponzi-Like Art Fraud Exposed

Art advisor Lisa Schiff has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for defrauding clients of around $6.5 million over several years, a scheme she admitted to being a Ponzi-like fraud. Schiff, once a prominent figure advising elite clients such as Leonardo DiCaprio through her company Schiff Fine Art, misused funds intended for art acquisitions to finance a luxurious lifestyle. Her fraudulent activities included diverting money from the resale of artworks and falsely claiming delayed transactions to cover up her actions. The scheme came to light when clients, including real estate heiress Candace Carmel Barasch, accused her of failing to return funds from art sales. Schiff pled guilty to wire fraud and was ordered to pay over $15 million in restitution and forfeiture. This scandal has sent shockwaves through the art community, highlighting vulnerabilities in the largely unregulated art advisory industry.