Stolen Warhol Print At Center Of LA Pawnshop Owner’s Guilty Plea

LOS ANGELES, CA — A pawnshop owner pleaded guilty Tuesday to lying to investigators about his connection to stolen Andy Warhol art.

Glenn Bednarsh, 58, formerly of Beverly Hills, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.

Bednarsh knowingly bought a stolen Warhol print depicting Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin in February 2021 for $6,000. Bednarsh asked co-conspirator Brian Alec Light to help him sell the stolen trial proof. Light then contacted the Beverly Hills office of an auction house based in Dallas about selling the art, according to federal prosecutors.

Light, 58, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods and is awaiting sentencing.

Prosecutors don't believe Light nor Bednarsh stole the Warhol print — a trial proof depicting Lenin and was print number 44 of 46 total by Warhol — in early 2022 from a home in Los Angeles County.

But Light played a role in trying to sell the ill-gotten print worth about $170,000, according to prosecutors.

Authorities have not publicly identified any suspects in the theft.

After being burglarized, the victim informed law enforcement of its theft as well as the original gallery in West Hollywood that sold him the artwork, according to investigators.

"Days after the theft, the thief brought the artwork to a pawnshop, which purchased it. The pawnshop’s owner contacted Light for help selling the artwork, which Light knew was stolen," prosecutors allege. "Light contacted an auction house to sell the print within weeks of its theft. Light told the pawnshop owner to drop off the Warhol at the auction house in Beverly Hills so that it could be transported to Dallas for inspection and sale, which the pawnshop owner did."

The art was slated for auction in Dallas a few months later.

"An employee of the auction house in Dallas reached out to the gallery in West Hollywood for its opinion of the piece," the justice department said in a written statement. "The gallery immediately recognized the piece as the stolen piece of art. As a result, the gallery notified the auction house of its stolen nature and notified the FBI."

Later in March 2021, when FBI agents began inquiring about the stolen Warhol art, Light lied to them by saying he bought it at a Culver City garage sale for $18,000 and provided a fake receipt, he admitted.

According to Bednarsh's plea agreement, he admitted having lied to FBI agents by telling them Light asked him to store the Warhol for him and that he agreed to do so out of friendship and not for financial gain.

As part of his plea agreement, Light forfeited the stolen artwork retrieved by law enforcement.

Bednarsh is due back in court for sentencing on Jan. 6.

City News Service contributed to this report.