Government Seizes Millions in Artwork

The Justice Department has seized millions of dollars of artwork that had briefly been stored in a Newark warehouse, a collection which authorities claim was bought with the proceeds of a fraud involving renewable fuel credits, US Attorney Paul Fishman announced Friday.

The civil forfeiture action, known as an “in rem” proceeding, does not involve criminal defendants but rather objects -- in this case, several photographs by Alvin Langdon Coburn, Alfred Stieglitz and others. All told, the government has seized 2,200 pieces valued at $15.7 million.

An in rem proceeding permits lawful, innocent owners to make a claim on that property. What remains can be sold off to reimburse victims of the crime used to purchase it, the US Attorney’s said.

According to the US Attorney, the artwork was purchased by Philip Rivkin, the owner of Green Diesel of Houston. The company falsely claimed to manufacture biomass-based fuel, then sold renewable energy credits to petroleum companies including CITGO, Shell and Exxon between 2007 and 2011. The credit system was created by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to encourage petroleum producers to introduce more renewable fuel into the nation’s supply.

The oil companies have lost more than $78 million, Fishman said.

Among the works being seized are “Distortion no. 6, Paris,” by Andre Kertesz; Edward Weston’s “Dunes, Oceano”; and “Nude Study, Miss Mabel Cramer” by Clarence Hudson White.