LOS ANGELES
Officials stated that an internationally known art dealer was found guilty Friday of embezzling more than $260,000 from the bankruptcy estate of Ace Gallery Los Angeles, an art gallery in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles.
He did this while acting as the estate’s trustee and custodian.
Douglas J. Chrismas, 80, of the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles, was convicted of three counts of embezzlement against a bankruptcy estate.
Chrismas served as the president and CEO of Art and Architecture Books of the 21st Century, which operated as Ace Gallery and had offices in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.
During a four-day trial, evidence showed that in February 2013, Ace Gallery filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in Los Angeles and continued operations under Chrismas’s fiduciary control until April 2016.
At that time, the bankruptcy court appointed an independent trustee to oversee Ace Gallery’s bankruptcy estate, removing Chrismas from his position.
Between late March and early April of 2016, Chrismas embezzled approximately $264,595 from the Ace Gallery bankruptcy estate.
This included a $50,000 check signed by Chrismas, drawn from the estate, and paid to Ace Museum, a separate non-profit corporation he owned and controlled.
Chrismas also misappropriated $100,000 owed to Ace Gallery by a third party for the purchase of artwork, redirecting the funds to Ace Museum.
Additionally, he embezzled about $114,595 that a different third party owed the gallery for artwork and gave it to the landlord of Ace Museum to pay its $225,000 monthly rent.
U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept.9.
Chrismas faces up to five years in federal prison for each count.
The FBI’s Art Crime Team investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Valerie L. Makarewicz of the Major Frauds Section and David W. Williams of the Criminal Appeals Section are prosecuting this case.