Auction house could be among many galleries swindled

Sotheby’s is suing a prominent Manhattan art dealer, saying he swindled the auction house out of nearly $10 million in loans to buy four paintings by Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall. The missing milions were a small fraction of the money allegedly taken by Michel Cohen from galleries in the United States and Europe, Forbes.com reported Thursday. The total could reach $75 million, the report said. Sotheby’s said it loaned Cohen $9.9 million last year to buy two Picassos and two Chagalls for resale. The loans came due at the end of December, but Cohen made no payment and refused to say where the paintings were, Sotheby’s charged. Sotheby’s sued him Jan. 23 in state court in Manhattan. The suit was also filed in California, where Cohen hadanother residence. Cohen could not be reached for comment. He did not return a message left at the Cohen Gallery. Forbes said he may in Cuba. The French-born Cohen first became an art dealer in California in the 1980s, before opening his own gallery in Manhattan. Brokering the sale of Chagall paintings, he became a multimillionaire. Forbes reported that Cohen lost his money in the stock market before the alleged art scandal. FBI spokesman Jim Margolin said authorities were aware of the Cohen case but that no criminal charges had been filed. Phillips declined to comment on whether Sotheby’s would press criminal charges against Cohen.