NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan art dealer was arrested in Brazil on Tuesday for allegedly selling a stolen Picasso painting for $4.5 million and collecting $7.5 million for a Monet painting he never delivered, prosecutors said.
Michel Cohen, 49, was held while the United States initiates extradition proceedings, said Marvin Smilon, spokesman for U.S. Attorney James B. Comey. It was unclear whether Cohen had a lawyer.
The French-born Cohen arranged in 2000 to broker the sale of Pablo Picasso's "Nu Accroupi," or "Nude Crouched," for the Richard Gray Gallery in Manhattan, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors said the gallery delivered the painting for a day to Cohen so he could show it to prospective buyers.
The complaint alleged that Cohen then arranged for the painting to be sold to someone in Iowa for $4.5 million without the knowledge of the gallery, which received nothing for the sale.