This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/manchester/7090795.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Statue forger jailed for art con | Statue forger jailed for art con |
(30 minutes later) | |
A 47-year-old man has been jailed for more than four years for what police said was "the most sustained and diverse" art forgery case ever. | |
Shaun Greenhalgh, from Bolton, passed off scores of faked artefacts and artworks as genuine. | |
His mother Olive, 83, was given a 12 month suspended sentence for her part in the con. His father, George, 84, will be sentenced at a later date. | His mother Olive, 83, was given a 12 month suspended sentence for her part in the con. His father, George, 84, will be sentenced at a later date. |
All three admitted fraud and money laundering at Bolton Crown Court. | |
The court heard how a fake Egyptian statue was "knocked up in three weeks in a garden shed" by Shaun Greenhalgh, who cared for his parents at the home they shared in Bromley Cross. | The court heard how a fake Egyptian statue was "knocked up in three weeks in a garden shed" by Shaun Greenhalgh, who cared for his parents at the home they shared in Bromley Cross. |
Your talent was misapplied to the ends of dishonest gain Judge William Morris | |
Bolton Council paid thousands of pounds for the so-called Amarna Princess believing it was 3,300 years old - but three years later experts found it was counterfeit. | |
The statue was said to represent one of the daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, the mother of Tutankhamun. | The statue was said to represent one of the daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, the mother of Tutankhamun. |
Judge William Morris, sentencing Shaun Greenhalgh to four years and eight months in prison, said the three had conspired together to defraud the art world for 17 years. | |
'Spelling mistakes' | |
He told Greenhalgh: "This was an ambitious conspiracy of long duration based on your undoubted talent and based on the sophistication of the deceptions underpinning the sales and attempted sales. | |
"I speak of your talent but not in admiration. Your talent was misapplied to the ends of dishonest gain." | |
The scam came to light after George Greenhalgh presented three faked Assyrian reliefs - ancient stone wall art - to the British Museum for examination in 2005. | |
Errors in the cuneiform script - in effect, spelling mistakes - prompted museum officials to doubt their authenticity. | |
They alerted the Metropolitan Police's Art and Antiques Unit which began an investigation. |