A Connecticut man was sentenced to over a year in federal prison on Wednesday for selling counterfeit works of art, officials said.
Nicholas P. Hatch, 29, of Wilton, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 14 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to mail fraud on Aug. 7, 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Between April 2020 and January 2022, Hatch, the owner of Hatch Estate Services LLC, an estate sales company based in Norwalk, reportedly used multiple websites, including Estatesales.org, to sell paintings by Peter Max, court records show.
“Hatch, who knew that the paintings were not authentic Peter Max paintings, used multiple aliases when interacting with purchasers through email during the sale process, and he made various representations as to the paintings’ authenticity, including providing certificates of the works’ authenticity,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to court records, Hatch sold 145 fraudulent Peter Max paintings, defrauding 43 buyers out of a total of $248,600.
Hatch was arrested on May 9, 2023, officials said.
Hatch, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on June 17. He was also ordered to make full restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
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