HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM)– A Hungarian woman was sentenced for selling fake “woodblock” and “woodcuts” in Pennsylvania and France that scammed collectors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Department of Justice.
Zsanett Nagy, 32, was given a sentence for time served followed by two years of supervised release for the offense of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
She was also ordered to pay back $107,159.25 in restitution and will possibly be deported for her conviction.
From 2018 to 2021, Nagy worked with her then-husband Earl Marshawn Washington to sell counterfeit art to collectors and then launder the money, the DOJ said in a news release Thursday. The duo pleaded guilty in 2023.
Xylography is the art of making “woodcuts,” or engravings made from wooden blocks, especially for printing using historical techniques. The tradition has been used in many different areas across the world, and one even dates back as far as the 14th century, according to the release.
The woodblocks that were sold by the duo were advertised to be from between the 15th and early 20th centuries. There was a collector in Hummelstown and others in France who were duped into thinking they bought authentic art.
The DOJ says that the collectors in France would send money over PayPal, an app that allows people to send each other money electronically, to Nagy who would then move the money to her bank account and withdraw it before it was discovered the artifacts were fake.
Washington was also charged with selling 130 fake woodblocks to a collector in York for $118,810 from 2013 to 2016.
Sentencing for Washington is scheduled in March.
