DETROIT — A prominent Metro Detroit art gallery owner reached agreement Thursday to plead guilty to wire fraud after being accused of cheating wealthy clients out of a $1.6 million collection of more than 100 rare fine-art prints — including black-and-white photographs by landscape photographer Ansel Adams.
Wendy Halsted Beard, 58, of Franklin, who owns the Wendy Halsted Gallery, reached the agreement seven months after a high-profile FBI raid at her home. She was charged with mail and wire fraud and accused of orchestrating a scheme involving photographs that she received on consignment.
Prosecutors allege she sold pictures without the owner's knowledge, pocketed the cash or failed to return unsold works, according to the complaint.
According to a court filing Thursday, Beard is expected to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Starting in March 2019, Beard sold fine art photographs that had been given to her on consignment and kept the money.
Beard tried to lull victims into a false sense of security by offering excuses for her inability or unwillingness to return consigned photographs, according to the court filing.
"These excuses consisted, primarily, of exaggerating the severity of her own health, including claiming (1) to have recently been in a coma and (2) to have received a double-lung transplant," prosecutors wrote in the filing.
"In other instances, Beard conveyed to her victims that there was a lack of interest among potential purchasers — despite having already sold the photograph(s) in question on at least one occasion," prosecutors added. "Beard also created fake 'employee' identities which she used to correspond with her victims."
Beard's lawyer, Steve Fishman, declined comment Thursday.
The criminal case includes a forfeiture provision that says Beard "shall forfeit to the United States any property, real or personal, which constitutes, or is derived from, any proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly."
Once Beard is sentenced, the FBI will start the process of returning seized artwork to the rightful owners, spokeswoman Mara Schneider said Thursday. Anyone who believes they provided art to or never received purchased art from Beard can contact the FBI at (313) 965-2323.
The case is the latest in Michigan involving art crimes, a segment that has thrived globally during the pandemic. In 2020, law enforcement officials seized 854,742 cultural property objects, including paintings, according to a survey by Interpol.
The Beard case was unsealed last fall more than two years after FBI agents raided a secluded estate in northern Michigan. Investigators say the estate served as a forgery factory where a talented artist produced phony paintings purported to be from top American artists.
The Beard investigation involved investigators from Birmingham police, and the FBI Art Theft Unit, which has recovered more than 15,000 pieces of artwork worth more than $800 million since its inception in 2004.
Beard's gallery was created by her father, Thomas Halsted, in Birmingham in 1969 and was a respected business focused on photography. He died in 2018, and his obituary notes how he forged friendships with great photographers, including Ansel Adams.
The late photographer's grandson, Matthew Adams, who runs the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite, Calif., was shocked to learn of the alleged crimes last fall.
“Holy mackerel,” Adams told The Detroit News. “Wow, that’s not good.”
Beard, meanwhile, continued to operate the gallery out of a Birmingham studio until relocating to her Franklin home in 2020.
The investigation started last year after Birmingham police received complaints that Beard received artwork on consignment and failed to return the pieces. Investigators shared the tips with FBI agents who identified dozens of potential victims.
One 82-year-old unidentified victim agreed to provide Beard fine art photographs on consignment worth $900,000. That included the black-and-white photo, "The Tetons and the Snake River," which was shot by Adams in Grand Teton National Park in 1942. An appraisal valued the photograph at $625,000.
According to an email shared with the FBI, Beard said she tried unsuccessfully to sell the print in Jackson, Wyoming, the agent wrote. Beard asked the victim if they would consider accepting $440,000.
The FBI later learned Beard signed an agreement with a Wyoming gallery to sell the photograph, according to the government. That gallery sold the print to a private collector for $440,000 in June 2020.
The alleged fraud unfolded as Adams prints fetched record prices. Another "Tetons" print was auctioned for $988,000 in December 2020, a record-high price for his work.
A second victim, an 89-year-old collector suffering from Alzheimer's disease, consigned photos, including prints by Adams and artists Ion Zupco, Arnold Newman and Jerry Uelsma, according to the criminal case.
The collection included a signed print of "Tenaya Creek," shot by Adams in Yosemite National Park in California in 1948. "Tenaya Creek" was valued at $4,000-$5,500.
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