ORLANDO,Fla. — A central Florida man says traveling auctioneers who claimed to be selling police seized art burned him for more than $15,000.
It's a company Action 9 first exposed a year ago and that's why he called Todd Ulrich for help. Ulrich had the art appraised and helped the man recover most of the money.
At first David Toro had a great feeling about the seized assets auct
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"I'm thinking man I got a great deal, this is awesome," he said.
The auction was by Premium Art Alliance, the same company that held one in Windermere last year.
After attending, Toro found the Action 9 investigation online that exposed a history of complaints against the auctioneers and buyers who claimed they lost thousands.
"My heart sank. I just have no words," said Toro.
He paid more than $15,000 for four paintings, including a Pissarro that he said the auctioneer claimed was a tremendous investment.
Toro said he was told, "This Pissarro is worth over $40,000 right now."
He said the company refused to undo the deal and he called Action 9.
Ulrich had a local appraiser examine the artwork.
"If you sold any of these today you could not recover the money you spent on them," said appraiser Lauren Stump.
"Would it be thousands in losses?" asked Ulrich.
"Yes," replied Stump.
She said that Pissarro was not the original oil the auctioneer claimed; another piece was a glorified poster, and some of the certificates of authenticity defied belief.
"I really like the misspelling of the artist's name," she said, pointing out an incorrect spelling on one certificate of authenticity.
Adam Levinsohn had been the licensed auctioneer at David Toro's sale and at the auction Action 9 went to in Windermere.
"Are you counting on people not knowing what they're buying?" asked.
"No, no that is not correct," said Levinsohn. His company did not return Ulrich's calls about Toro's complaint.
Based on the appraisal and his own research, Toro disputed the credit card charge and got a $14,000 refund. "I mean that's a lot of money for me," Toro said.
Levinsohn had been forced to surrender his auctioneer's license in North Carolina. The state said he advertised seized art he wasn't selling.