New York – The FBI is probing allegations that two auctioneers used Bernie Madoff’s name to sell phony art they claimed belonged to a swindled family, according to a source familiar with the investigation.
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Dominic Briscoe and Asher Milchman have been holding a series of “one day only” fire sales in Southampton and Huntington, LI, and Weston, Mass., claiming that the Philadelphia family wants to recoup $30 million it lost to the Ponzi schemer.
But none of the Madoff victims so far made public fits the description of the touted bluebloods.
One bidder, who asked not to be identified, purchased $18,000 worth of art, including what she thought was a signed Pablo Picasso lithograph.
What she got was “basically junk,” she said.
“This guy is such a creep in using the Madoff scam to sell this junk,” she said.
Briscoe, citing client confidentiality, would not disclose the name of the family, but said: “I don’t sell fraudulent stuff. Everyone that’s unhappy has gotten their money back.”
He called the dissatisfaction a simple case of buyers’ remorse.
Milchman didn’t respond to calls for comment.