GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Michigan art dealer will spend several years in prison for cheating clients out of millions of dollars.
Dawn Ison, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, announced Wednesday that Wendy Halstead Beard, of Birmingham, has been sentenced to 5 years and three months in prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution.
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Beard pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud that allegedly stems from a “multi-year scheme” of selling artworks and pocketing the profits without the owners’ knowledge or taking money from buyers but not delivering the promised artwork. According to Ison, Beard ultimately defrauded dozens of customers, most of whom were elderly.
“On at least one occasion Beard victimized two individuals with one photograph — never providing the photograph to the purchase while also failing to pay the original consigner following the sale,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
The Detroit News reported that she stole more than $3.5 million in photographs and ill-gotten profits. She was first arrested two years ago after FBI agents recovered about 700 photos from her Oakland County home and a studio in Florida.
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After several customers reportedly questioned Beard about their artwork and proceeds, Beard used several excuses, “inventing more and more ridiculous justifications” for not returning property or providing payment. She allegedly told some customers that she had been in a coma or had received a double lung transplant. She also allegedly created a fake employee to interact with her customers.
“Beard’s ongoing deception was of a level that we rarely see, even in fraud cases,” Ison said in a statement. “(The) sentence will hopefully bring a measure of closure for the more than three-dozen victims who trusted Wendy Beard with their valuable artwork.”
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According to the Detroit News, Beard is the daughter of Tom Halstead, a nationally recognized gallerist who died in 2018. Investigators believe her connection to her father and his well-groomed reputation helped fuel her scheme.
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