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.
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