Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Takes on Bizzare Wire Fraud Case

A 69 year old woman is being charged with wire fraud, witness tampering, and making false statements to the FBI because she allegedly sold a fake Picasso drawing.

Investigators believe Tatiana Khan, owner of Chateau Allegre gallery on La Cienega Boulevard, hired an artist to fabricate a 1902 pastel drawing by Picasso called "La Femme Au Chapeau Blue," also known in English as "The Woman in the Blue Hat." She allegedly tricked an artist into drawing a replica of the drawing, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Kahn was able to sell the painting for $2 million by falsely advertising that the drawing came from the estate of Malcom Forbes, but the purchaser became suspicious of the credibility of the painting and was smart enough to contact a Picasso expert. The Picasso expert then determined that the drawing was a fake, where the FBI was soon brought into the investigation. The gallery owner then told the artist not to divulge any information about the fake Picasso painting.

Kahn was informed of her charges last Friday, and now has a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney to help her with this federal case. While serving the summons, the FBI also seized a painting by abstract painter Willem de Kooining, which investigators believe was purchased by Kahn with the proceeds from the fake Picasso painting that cost Kahn $720,000. If the West Hollywood gallery owner is convicted of all the charges, she faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.