London Dealer Jailed for Swindling Clients on Picasso Sales

  • Timothy Sammons gets four to 12 years in prison for fraud
  • Owners ripped off on sales of Picasso, Chagall and others
Pablo Picasso in Mougins, France, on Oct. 13, 1971.

Photographer: Ralph Gatti/AFP via Getty Images

A London art dealer who stole tens of millions of dollars from clients who gave him works, including some by Pablo Picasso, to sell on consignment was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison by a New York judge.

Timothy Sammons, 63, used his businesses in London, New York and Zurich to swindle customers out of as much as $30 million, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to fraud and grand larceny.