CT man gets 14 months in prison for art fraud scheme

By Rob Polansky

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    HARTFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — A man from Wilton was sentenced to prison this week for selling counterfeit works of art.

Nicholas Hatch, 29, will serve 14 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Hatch was the owner of Hatch Estate Services LLC, an estate sales company based in Norwalk.

Between approximately April 2020 and Jan. 2022, Hatch used various websites, including Estatesales.org, a website specializing in estate sales and auctions, to sell paintings by an artist named Peter Max.

Hatch, whom Avery said 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.

Through this scheme, Avery said Hatch sold 145 fraudulent Peter Max paintings and defrauded 43 purchasers out of a total of $248,600. The judge ordered Hatch to make full restitution.

Hatch was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 9, 2023. On Aug. 7, 2023, he pleaded guilty to mail fraud.

Hatch, who has been released on bond, is required to report to prison on June 17.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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