HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A man has been sentenced to 52 months in prison for selling inauthentic pieces woodblock art, some of which he claimed dated back to the 15th century.
Earl Marshawn Washington, 61, previously of Honolulu, Key West, Las Vegas and other places, was sentenced for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Pennsylvania.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Washington admitted to working with several romantic partners since 2013 to create and sell the fake art. As part of his guilty plea, the office says he also admitted to using his partners’ PayPal and bank accounts and relying on his to mail packages to victims.
Xylography is a style of art that involves making wooden carvings or engravings, particularly to be used in printing. The style is believed to have originated in China but also appeared in Europe around the 14th century.
According to the office, Washington was originally charged by indictment in January 2023. As part of a plea agreement, the initial charges against him were dismissed, and a new charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud was filed. Washington pleaded guilty to that charge in July 2023.
Washington’s then-wife, Zsanett Nagy, also pleaded guilty in August 2023 to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
According to the office, Washington and Nagy admitted to selling both unauthentic woodblocks and prints which they claimed were from between the 15th and early 20th centuries.
According to the office, the buyers of the false art included a pair of woodblock collectors in France, who paid nearly $85 thousand for what Washington said were fifteen “15th.C Reformation/Lutheran wood blocks;” and a Hummelstown resident who bought a print, that Washington and Nagy admitted to advertising as being made from woodblocks from between the 15th and 20th centuries.
In addition, a woodblock collector in York, also paid $118,810 to Washington and his then-girlfriend between 2013 to 2016 in exchange for approximately 130 woodblocks, according to the office. In an email, the office says, Washington used the alias “River Seine,” and claimed to be selling “original printing blocks from the 16th and 17th centuries.”
In addition to his sentence of 52 months in prison, Washington will also have to pay a total of $203,240.90 in restitution to victims and serve three years under supervised release after his imprisonment,
Nagy was also sentenced to serve time in prison in January 2024. According to the office, she also faces potential deportation for her conviction.