FBI art fraud trial set for 2025

Mardi Link, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read
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Mar. 10—TRAVERSE CITY — Two Michigan brothers who federal prosecutors allege ran a Cedar-based forgery ring, using co-schemers and straw sellers to swindle more than $1 million from art and sports memorabilia collectors, are scheduled for trial.

Donald "D.B." Henkel, 63, formerly of Cedar, and Mark Brian Henkel, 67, formerly of Ann Arbor, face multiple felony charges in U.S. District Court in Illinois, after a grand jury in 2021 found probable cause in the fraud case against them.

The Henkels have pleaded not guilty.

Donald Henkel is a prolific northern Michigan artist, responsible for National Cherry Festival posters, several local art exhibitions, children's book illustrations and a statue placed at the Grand Traverse Commons.

A large painting by D.B. Henkel, titled "Holiday Jubilee," hangs on the wall of Horizon Books and features an unusual gathering of the Easter Bunny, Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln and Santa Claus. It measures 12 feet by 6 feet 8 inches, was an Art Prize entry and has adorned the wall above the shop's children's section since December 2013.

Prosecutors say other works painted or altered by Donald Henkel were sold to auction houses, galleries and individual buyers as being works by internationally-known artists Ralston Crawford, George Ault and Gertrude Abercrombie.

"It was further part of the scheme that defendant Donald Henkel forged and altered, including applying false signatures, to paintings and collectible memorabilia, including sports, Hollywood, and music memorabilia, to deceive potential buyers and victims," an indictment, filed April 12, 2022, states.

Mark Henkel also faces eight counts of using intimidation or force against a witness, court records show.

Also charged is a Florida man, Raymond Paparella, 61, who prosecutors say was among those who acted for the Henkels as a straw seller — a person who sells something on behalf of someone else — in an effort to deceive buyers.

Paparella has also pleaded not guilty.

Multiple status reports have been jointly filed by defense attorneys and prosecutors with the court since 2022, state plea negotiations were ongoing at least through September, although last month a judge set a trial date: Jan. 6, 2025.

While FBI search warrants and discovery evidence in the case remain under seal, the indictment contains sketches of how prosecutors allege the Henkels operated a 15-year scheme to create, alter and sell fake paintings and sports memorabilia to unsuspecting buyers from California to London, England.

Among those duped, the indictment states, were professional buyers at auction houses and galleries.

For example, a baseball bat purportedly signed by Babe Ruth, a table purportedly signed by and drawn on by Walt Disney and six paintings purportedly painted by Ault, are among fakes that prosecutors say the Henkels and others sold for between $52,680 and $372,500 each.

To perpetuate the fakes, prosecutors say Donald Henkel purchased vintage pens that he used at a residence he previously owned in Cedar, to fraudulently add autographs to common memorabilia and signatures to common paintings to make them appear more valuable.

The COVID-19 pandemic, stipulations by attorneys and plea negotiations have thus far kept the case out of the courtroom, with a trial set by U.S. District Court Judge Elaine E. Buckle to begin more than four years after the FBI executed a search warrant on Donald Henkel's Cedar property in July 2020.

Defense attorneys and federal prosecutors did not return requests for comment Friday; a status report from attorneys updating the judge is due in April, court records show.