Judicial pre-trial proceedings continued Thursday in Superior Court in Barrie for the direct indictment of three southern Ontario men charged in connection with a fraudulent art ring.
They are accused of making and selling fake paintings by renowned Ontario Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau.
Charged are James White, 81, of Essa Township; David Bremner, 75, of Markham; and Jeffrey Cowan, 47, of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Pre-trial is scheduled to continue on March 27, 2024 at 2:15 p.m.
In early 2023, Ontario Provincial Police and the Thunder Bay Police Service announced they had busted an alleged art ring they say is responsible for an “apparent decades-long art fraud” that resulted in the manufacture and distribution of more than 1,000 paintings being passed off as Morrisseau’s work.
Also known as Copper Thunderbird, Morrisseau was the founder of the Woodlands School of Canadian art and is often considered the grandfather of contemporary Indigenous art in Canada.
His work was characterized by thick black outlines and bright colours.
Prior to his 2007 death, Morrisseau expressed concerns about other people painting and selling art in his name.
In 2005, he had established the Norval Morrisseau Heritage Society, designed to compile a database of his paintings with the intent of discrediting forgeries.
A 2020 documentary, There Are No Fakes, focuses on concerns about Morrisseau forgeries.
The OPP and the Thunder Bay police announced an investigation into the allegations launched in 2020 called Project Totton. Eight people were arrested, including five in Thunder Bay and the three others being prosecuted in Barrie.
Police have said more than 1,000 alleged fraudulent paintings, prints and other artworks were seized. Some of the paintings sold for tens of thousands of dollars.
The five accused in Thunder Bay are David John Voss, 51; Diane Marie Champagne, 63; Gary Bruce Lamont, 61; Linda Joy Tkachk, 59; and Benjamin Paul Morrisseau, 53.
Gary Lamont, 61, pleaded guilty last week to one count of forgery and one count of defrauding the public above $5,000. He appeared before a judge on Thursday for sentencing. A joint submission was presented to Justice Bonnie Warkentin by the Crown and defense counsel Gil Labine calling for a sentence of five years minus pre-sentence custody.
Warkentin called the damages in the case “profound.”
“This is more than just an art fraud. It is the appropriation of a cultural and spiritual identity of one of Canada’s most profound artists.”
Warkentin agreed with the joint submission of five years in custody. With pre-sentence custody of eight months enhanced to 12, Lamont will serve four more years in custody. The sentence will be served concurrently with a two-year sentence Lamont is already serving after pleading guilty to sexual assault charges last week.
The Crown also did not seek a restitution order for the costs of the forged works, arguing there was no real possibility that Lamont could or would pay such restitution. Victims can still seek restitution through civil action.
All seized artworks are to be forfeited, though a separate forfeiture hearing will be scheduled for those who wish to retain ownership.
As part of the Lamont plea, all charges against 59-year-old Linda Tkachyk were marked withdrawn.
The charges against the six other co-accused remain before the courts.
The court heard in the agreed statement of facts in Lamont’s case that between 2002 and 2019, he oversaw the production of numerous Norval Morrisseau forgeries, which were then sold to mostly intermediaries before being sold to private collectors and galleries.
This particular forgery ring headed by Lamont and operated in Thunder Bay is believed to have produced 190 fakes, 117 of which have been seized by police.
— With files from TBNewsWatch.com
