Eric Spoutz
Introduction
Eric Ian Spoutz (born August 3, 1983) is an American art dealer, art historian and museum curator. In 2003, he founded the Eric I. Spoutz Gallery in the Fisher Building in Detroit, Michigan, subsequently opening Gallery 928 at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Cape Coral, Florida in addition to galleries in Palm Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California.
In 2017 he was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison at Federal Correctional Institution, Morgantown for selling fraudulent art through internet auction sites and through auction houses.
Legal
On February 3, 2016 Eric Spoutz was arrested at his home in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California based upon a 26 page complaint issued by the office of United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara. On June 3, 2016 Spoutz plead guilty in the case of US v. Spoutz to one count of wire fraud related to the sale of falsely attributed artwork accompanied by forged provenance documents. The government charged Spoutz with marketing and selling the fraudulent artwork through online auction sites and auction houses On February 16, 2017 Spoutz was sentenced by the Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to 41 months in federal prison at Federal Correctional Institution, Morgantown and ordered to forfeit the $1.45 million he made from the scheme and pay $154,100 in restitution.