Leonardo DiCaprio's art adviser accused of running ponzi scheme by real estate ... trends now
A high-flying art adviser, whose clients include Leonardo DiCaprio, has been accused by a former friend and real-estate heiress of running a ponzi scheme after failing to pay $1.8million owed from the sale of a prestigious painting.
Lisa Schiff is alleged to have defrauded her 'partner in crime' Candace Barasch and fellow plaintiff Richard Grossman by refusing to pay fees owed following the sale of Adrian Ghenie's The Uncle 3 for $2.5million.
The lawsuit, filed in New York on Thursday, claims the fraud was 'part of a much larger Ponzi scheme' run by Schiff, which involved 'taking money from one client to pay another, and to fund Schiff's lavish lifestyle'.
Barasch and Grossman's spouse have known Schiff for almost two decades, the suit said.
The Grossmans went to the bris - the Jewish ceremony of circumcision - of Schiff's son and attended Father's Day events at his school as 'adjunct parents', while Barasch and Schiff frequently went on luxury holidays together.
Lisa Schiff, whose clients include Leonardo DiCaprio, has been accused of running a ponzi scheme after failing to pay $1.8million owed from the sale of a prestigious painting
One of Schiff's accusers is her former friend and real-estate heiress Candace Barasch (left)
Schiff is alleged to have defrauded Barasch and fellow plaintiff Richard Grossman by refusing to pay fees owed following the sale of Adrian Ghenie's The Uncle 3 (above) for $2.5million
It was during these trips that the heiress learned of her friend's 'lavish lifestyle', the suit claims.
Schiff regularly spent 'tens of thousands of dollars at a time on couture clothing and accessories, and making jewelry purchases of $20,000 at a time', the complaint says.
It also alleges that Schiff rents a New York apartment in Tribeca at $25,000 per month, a 'luxury apartment in the legendary Colonial House Apartment complex in West Hollywood - where Bette Davis once lived', and enjoys 'international first class travel with concierge services and limousine services, including vacations at five-star hotels'.
The claim adds: 'The jig is now up.'
According to the complaint, Barasch learned of The Uncle 3 through Schiff while it was on display at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, in 2019.
In April 2021, Barasch bought a 50 percent stake in the work and Grossman and his spouse, who is not named, each acquired 25 percent, the suit says.
The trio sold the work at Sotheby's in Hong Kong in December 2022 and Schiff swiftly pocketed her 10 percent commission, before transferring $450,000 to the plaintiffs, the suit states.
She promised to pay the remaining $1.8million owed by March 26 this year.
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