TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Police: Man Posted Fake Picasso Painting On EBay

Image courtesy of Tampa Police Department

Police say a Wesley Chapel man tried to pass off this sketch as a Picasso and sell it on eBay.

ADVERTISEMENT

By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - TAMPA - Buyers, beware of Picasso paintings advertised for sale on eBay.

So say Tampa police, who arrested a Wesley Chapel man on felony scheme to defraud and other charges after learning the artwork he touted as authentic was not.

Ethem Ulge

Detective Bob Baxter will outline at a news conference today how a tip from law enforcement officials in New Jersey about phony artwork sold by a man in the Bay area led him to arrest Ethem Ulge, 44.

Ulge was booked into a Hillsborough County jail on Jan. 11, then released a day later on $22,500 bail, records show.

Police said Ulge advertised two paintings on eBay, one by Pablo Picasso and another by Marc Chagall.

Police showed a copy of an appraisal certificate from a Roswell, Ga., man who said the Picasso, titled "Man Dreaming of Three Female Nudes," would have a replacement value of $65,000 to $75,000.
But Baxter secured the artwork and had it evaluated by a local art expert, who advised it was not authentic, police said.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT