The Charges Against Christian Rosa for Selling Alleged Raymond Pettibon Forgeries, Explained

Yesterday, artist Christian Rosa (Weinberger) was indicted for his alleged role in the sale of forged works purportedly by artist Raymond Pettibon.  Here’s what you need to know.

The Charges

According to the indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors allege that, from about 2017 through about 2020, Rosa and other unidentified persons “engaged in a scheme to defraud potential art buyers by selling forged Pettibon paintings.”  Rosa allegedly sold four works that he falsely represented to be authentic Pettibon “Wave Series” paintings to two buyers: Untitled (“It was the Moment . . .”) (2013), Untitled (“Drop in . . .”) (2011), Untitled (“Bail, or bail out . . .”) (2012), and Untitled (“If there is a line . . . “) (2016) (images of the works are included in the indictment).  In or around 2018, one buyer (“Buyer-1”) allegedly helped Rosa arrange the sale of the first two paintings listed above to the second buyer.  In exchange for Buyer-1’s assistance, Rosa allegedly gave Buyer-1 a fifth supposed Pettibon “Wave Painting:” Untitled (“I Keep Pouring . . .”) (1997).  Two years later, after trying again to help Rosa sell additional “Pettibon” paintings, Buyer-1 bought the other two of the four paintings listed above.  Rosa allegedly provided false certificates of authenticity for each of these works.  Each certificate contained an image of the work and a forged Pettibon signature.

The indictment refers to emails between Rosa and an unnamed co-conspirator wherein Rosa explains that he wants to find a buyer who would agree not to resell the works at auction and states: “I am not trying to get busted so that’s why it’s takeing [sic] longer.”  Per prosecutors, Rosa used some of the sales proceeds towards the purchase of a residence in California. 

In January 2021, Artnet News reported accusations that Rosa had forged Untitled (“If there is a line . . .”), which prosecutors alleged was placed for sale at a New York auction house by a subsequent buyer.  Art market professionals who viewed Untitled (“If there is a line . . .”) reportedly noticed a “strange yellow-green blended into Pettibon’s normal cobalt blues,” the text overlay at the top of the wave was written “against a part of the sky that may have been erased,” and the signature “seemed a tad too polished.”

Following the article’s publication, Rosa allegedly emailed his co-conspirator “[t]he secret is out,” and then drafted an email to Pettibon stating that the work in the news article “is an overpainted print made from [his co-conspirator] a friend from Austria.”  Prosecutors allege Rosa soon left the United States, sold the California residence, and tried to transfer funds abroad. 

Rosa is charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, and the U.S. seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the alleged crimes.   According to prosecutors, Rosa could face a prison sentence if convicted – the wire fraud charges carry a maximum prison term of 20 years, and the aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.

Take-Away Point

Forgeries can victimize buyers, artists, and the art market more broadly.  While nothing can really stop a forger from creating forged works and false certificates of authenticity, artists may be well advised to think proactively to potentially reduce risk by implementing inventory management procedures as well as means of safeguarding, safely discarding, or destroying material they created but do not wish to be considered as artwork of their creation.