Art Consultant Lisa Schiff Accused of Defrauding Clients in Artwork Sale Scheme

Renowned art consultant Lisa Schiff is said to have closed her company, SFA Advisory, after loyal clients accused her of using money from sales to defraud them under a scheme allegedly run through her companies. Candace Carmel Barasch, a collector, and Richard Grossman, an attorney, filed suit against Ms. Schiff on May 11 in New York Supreme Court. They claim Ms Schiff failed to pay them the $1.8 million she owed them after helping them sell a painting at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. Court documents list five charges: breach of contract, theft, lying, breach of trust and collaboration with another person to commit a crime.

The lawsuit claims that Ms. Schiff and her companies set up a Ponzi scheme by taking money, accounts, and artwork entrusted to them by clients and using it, along with the proceeds from their sale, to finance the lavish style of life of Mrs. Schiff. He goes on to say that these personal expenses include “a $25,000-per-month apartment in New York,” “first-class international travel with concierge and limousine services, including five-star hotel vacations,” “shopping parties in New York and Europe to buy designer clothes. and jewelry,” “private school tuition for her child,” and “payments owed to other Schiff clients and businesses.” Ms. Schiff, her companies Schiff Fine Art and SFA Advisory, as well as ten other unnamed individuals, they are all named as defendants.

Adrian Ghenie’s 2019 painting “Uncle 3” is at the center of the dispute. Schiff brought this painting to Barasch’s attention in April 2021. Barasch bought it along with Grossman and his wife. Barasch bought a 50% interest and Grossman and his wife each bought a 25% interest. In December 2022, the three owners resold the work through Sotheby’s Hong Kong for $2.5 million. Schiff helped close the deal. In the lawsuit, they are said to have reached an oral agreement that Schiff would receive 10% of the net purchase price, which totaled $250,000. Sotheby’s did not say anything. In January, Schiff gave Barasch and Grossman $225,000 each. He reportedly promised that the rest of the money from the sales, which totaled $1.8 million, would arrive on March 26. The complaint says he then requested a one-month extension, saying it was an “accommodation for Hong Kong buyers,” and then another two-week extension. On May 8, when the payment was due, Grossman’s wife allegedly asked Schiff about the missing money. She, the latter, would have replied that she did not have it and that she had to call a lawyer. The complaint says that subsequent conversations with Schiff’s attorney “showed that Schiff was unable to pay the money owed, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.” “The plaintiffs are now victims of the ultimate art scammer and must go to court to get their money back.

Grossman and Barasch say they have known Schiff for nearly 20 years and consider her a member of the family and a trusted adviser. Ms. Barasch said that Ms. Schiff helped her make “informed decisions.” She also claims that Los Angeles dealer David Kordansky called her last summer to verify payment for a piece of art she had purchased through Ms. Schiff. The plaintiffs recently learned that the defendants’ failure to pay Kordansky Gallery on time was part of their plan to deceive their clients. Barasch and Grossman want to be heard by a jury and are seeking more than $2 million in damages. They also claim that Schiff owes them the $250,000 commission she earned selling the painting, plus interest, and that they should get the painting back immediately. They don’t know where she is now.