New York art consultant pleads guilty to stealing $6.5mn from clients

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A former art adviser to stars including Leonardo DiCaprio has pleaded guilty to defrauding clients out of $6.5mn to fund what prosecutors claim was a “lavish” New York City lifestyle.  

Lisa Schiff, who ran a contemporary art advising business in Manhattan, had brokered deals for works by artists such as Wangechi Mutu, Sarah Lucas and Chloe Wise, but filed for bankruptcy earlier this year after being sued by former customers. 

On Thursday, US federal prosecutors said she had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in “connection with the purchase and sale of approximately 55 artworks”.

They claimed Schiff — who had a roster of high-profile customers — pocketed money from her clients with which she was supposed to buy art, and diverted proceeds from the sale of certain works.

In total, Schiff defrauded “at least twelve clients, one artist, the estate of another artist, and one gallery”, according to New York federal prosecutors.

“For years, Lisa Schiff breached the trust of her art advisory clients by lying to them and diverting millions of dollars her clients had entrusted to her,” Manhattan US attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following the agreement.

A lawyer for Schiff, Randy Zelin, said the plea agreement showed his client “has accepted responsibility . . . and will continue to work to make amends”.

“This is one snapshot in a photo album filled with good work [and] professionalism,” Zelin added. “I do hope that she goes back to playing a role in the art world.”

Schiff had been a prominent figure in the city’s art scene since the launch of her SFA Advisory in 2002, and went on to open her own gallery in Tribeca in 2019.

Last year, she was accused of fraud in two civil lawsuits, including one brought by collector Candace Barasch, who claimed Schiff owed her at least $2.5mn for art purchases never fully completed. Schiff’s company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in January.

Schiff is scheduled to be sentenced next year. She faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars, although prosecutors agreed to seek a prison sentence of no more than 51 months in her plea agreement.

Her collection, which includes artworks by Damien Hirst, is set to be auctioned at Phillips in New York next month as part of the bankruptcy process.