LOS ANGELES
An Ohio man has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for trafficking a stolen Andy Warhol print worth at least $175,000, officials announced Tuesday.
Brian Alec Light, 58, of Hudson, Ohio (formerly a resident of downtown Los Angeles), is expected to plead guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods in the coming weeks.
His initial appearance in federal court is scheduled for Oct. 28.
According to his plea agreement, a thief stole a Warhol print—one of 46 trial proofs featuring Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin—from a Los Angeles County home in early 2021.
The victim promptly reported the theft to law enforcement and the West Hollywood gallery that sold him the artwork.
A few days later, the thief sold the print to a pawnshop. The shop’s owner then contacted Light to help sell the piece, knowing it was stolen.
Light arranged for the print to be sold through an auction house. He instructed the pawnshop owner to drop off the artwork at the auction house in Beverly Hills, which then shipped it to Dallas for inspection and inclusion in a spring 2021 auction.
An employee at the Dallas auction house contacted the West Hollywood gallery for an opinion on the piece. The gallery quickly identified it as the stolen artwork and notified both the auction house and the FBI.
When the FBI questioned Light, he lied and produced a fake receipt, claiming to have bought the print prior to its theft.
Upon pleading guilty, Light faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Light will forfeit the stolen artwork that law enforcement recovered as part of his plea deal.
The FBI’s Art Crime Team is investigating this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Silber, Senior Counsel in the Criminal Division and Assistant United States Attorneys Dominique Caamano and Matthew O’Brien, of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, are prosecuting this case.