Brian Walshe’s years of stall tactics and deception in a federal art fraud case cost him more than the 37-month prison sentence imposed on Tuesday; his entire lavish lifestyle went up in flames.
Walshe, now 49, pleaded guilty in 2011 to selling bogus Andy Warhol paintings and was “moments away” from getting a lenient deal – in part because of his wife Ana’s letter of support – that would’ve included no prison time, according to the 173-page sentencing memo.
But the proceeding came to a screeching halt when federal investigators ultimately uncovered about $2 million worth of assets that Brian hid to avoid paying restitution, prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo.
“(Walshe) has added to his litany of deceptive and false conduct, this time attempting to deceive the court itself,” according to prosecutors. “And it further illustrates the brazenness of his crimes, as he attempted to mislead the very body about to pronounce judgment on him. And his obstruction shows that his claims of being rehabilitated are simply not true.”
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Over the next three years, as his and his wife’s assets were scrutinized, Walshe was on house arrest as part of his pre-sentencing probation.
He was confined to their Cohasset, Massachusetts, home while he believed his wife, a real estate executive splitting time in Washington, D.C., was cheating on him with a man in the nation’s capital, according to court filings in the murder case.
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The home confinement, coupled with the seemingly never-ending case, strained Brian and Ana’s marriage, prosecutors argued in court documents, until he allegedly beat her to death on New Year’s Day and disposed of her body.
He allegedly made dozens of disturbing Google searches, including, “How long before a body starts to smell” and “How to stop a body from decomposing,” according to court documents.
The pending murder trial, which is scheduled to resume on March 4, was addressed in the sentencing memo.
“The conduct underlying (Brian Walshe’s) obstruction of justice is troubling,” prosecutors wrote. “At the same time, it should not distract from the real issue: (Brian Walshe’s) years long scheme of fraud, which had devastating consequences for the victims.
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“In this light, the defendant’s misleading of the Court is an extension of his criminal conduct (although all the more brazen in that he attempted to deceive the Court) … (and) the simple fact that he misled the Court refutes his claim of rehabilitation.”
The 37 months in prison will be followed by three years of supervised release and will run at the same as any potential state sentence he may face after the murder trial. He was also ordered pay restitution of $475,000.
His lawyer, Tracy Miner, argued for time served with three years of supervised release, which was agreed upon in 2021, before the hidden finances came to light.
She said her client was gathering the necessary information about his father’s estate when “his wife went missing, and he was subsequently arrested and held without bail.”
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“Rather than request additional time and judicial process to obtain the necessary documents, given the pending state court charges against him, on the advice of counsel, Mr. Walshe hereby invokes his fifth amendment privilege with respect to providing any additional financial statements to this Court,” Miner wrote in her sentencing memo.
Miner was representing Walshe in the murder case, but she withdrew in mid-December because he couldn’t afford to pay her anymore.
Walshe defrauded three victims – a California art dealer, a Paris man and a former friend in South Korea – during the Warhol scam.
He was about to get away with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the latter two victims, until the U.S. art dealer, Ron Rivlin, filed a formal complaint with the FBI.
The unnamed victim from France said he met Walshe in Paris in 2015, when he convinced him to buy what Walshe portrayed as two legitimate Warhol paintings for $145,000.
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Thinking it was a sound investment, he convinced his dad to loan him the money to buy the paintings, according to a victim impact statement included in the sentencing memorandum.
He never got the money back, and he said his 63-year-old father “has no other choice but to put back his retirement age for another 10 years since his hard-earned savings are now in tatters.”
“Today this dramatic financial situation also matches our disastrous personal situation,” the victim wrote. “My father is still resentful, and we don’t talk anymore.”
Rivlin told Fox News Digital after Walshe’s sentencing that it “marks a moment of accountability for the art fraud committed, but it pales in comparison to the profound tragedy of a far more grievous crime.”
“The sentencing brings a measure of justice for those of us affected by the fraud, yet our thoughts remain with the family enduring an irreplaceable loss,” he said, referring to Brian and Ana’s three young children.
“The true gravity of this situation lies with the sorrow of three children left orphaned, overshadowing any victory we might claim.”
None of that seemed to matter, according to Rivlin and the sentencing memo.
Rivlin told Fox News Digital during an interview last January, after Walshe was charged with his wife’s murder, that the conman was “a calculated guy” who “lacks basic empathy.”
That was backed by prosecutors’ interviews with other people who knew or were victimized by Walshe.
“Victims noted ‘skills’ that Walshe used to ‘con’ them, including his likability, communication, his reassurance …. Walshe orchestrated a long, complicated fraud over many years of this period. In fact, he took advantage of these very traits to ensnare his victims,” according to prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors uncovered his wife’s assets (which included retirement accounts, a Maserati and a Fiat), $650,000 his mother gave him for legal fees and his late father’s estate that Walshe allegedly stole by destroying the will and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his estate.
That turned into a contentious legal bout that dragged on for years in Plymouth County Probate Court unti the case was dismissed last fall “at both parties’ request.”
At that time, all his accounts were frozen, and the plaintiffs felt they weren’t going to get the money back.
“It will be a useless waste of estate funds to pay legal fees in a trial,” according to the motion to dismiss. “Even if they are successful on the petition, it will only cost the estate and not result in the return of funds taken by Brian Walshe.”
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