Inigo Philbrick quickly made a name for himself as one of the foremost art dealers. What his clients didn’t know was that it was all a scam
Inigo Philbrick told the judge that he had carried out his multimillion-dollar scam for money, power and status
For almost ten years, Victoria Baker-Harber has been one of the stars of the Britain’s most stylish reality show. But this week, her life away from Made In Chelsea took a shocking turn, since her fiancé was jailed for seven years for masterminding an $85 million art scam.
The swimsuit designer met and fell in love with businessman Inigo Philbrick, 34, the British art world’s wunderkind who bought and sold paintings by great artists like David Hockney for millions.< /b>
But his “successful” empire run from an art gallery in London’s Mayfair was a pyramid scheme, where the same priceless masterpieces were sold multiple times to different wealthy investors, including the Saudi royal family. There is no indication that 33-year-old Victoria knew of Inigo’s fraudulent scheme.
Full of swindled money, the art dealer traveled the world on private jets, spending summers in Ibiza.
Inigo, from Hackney, East London, wore suits worth more than $6,000, handmade shoes, a belt with a diamond embedded in the pin, and a watch worth almost $60,000.
He used to drink overpriced wine and had a tab at Cipriani’s in Mayfair so his dining companions would think he was too important to show a credit card.
Inigo Philbrick when he was captured by the authorities.
But he lied to clients about the ownership of works of art, borrowed money against paintings he did not own, and falsified contracts and documents to try to cover their tracks.
His lies finally caught up with him in 2019 when he sold a painting by artist Pablo Picasso at auction in London, but the $6 million price tag wasn’t enough to pay off all the people who unknowingly thought they owned it. .
So Philbrick was on the run for six months before the FBI tracked him down on the remote Pacific island of Vanuatu.
By then Victoria was already five months pregnant. At trial, her fiancé told a New York judge that she did it “for money.”
She justified her crimes by claiming that her victims were < b>“rich people who could afford it.”
But one of those victims, German art dealer Daniel Trumpel, said: “This is not a Robin Hood story, it’s real money he stole.
“Money that my wife and I had worked hard for during our working lives and that Philbrick embezzled to finance the lavish lifestyle, private jets, gambling, and large spending on wine, drugs, and restaurants”, added the merchant.
Inigo Philbrick’s partner says they remain steadfast in their support of the art entrepreneur, confessed swindler
Almost two years ago, Victoria gave birth to her little girl Gaia-Grace, who, despite having every step of her short life recorded on Instagram, she has never met her father, who will now spend seven years in prison.
“I have kept quiet and been labeled and painted as the wife of a gangster on the run. She is so far from the truth”, Victoria told The Sun.
Victoria said she has been hesitant to bring Gaia-Grace to the notoriously bleak Brooklyn jail where Philbrick is being held, a place she described as “barbaric ”.
“He’s in there with a guy on a quadruple homicide charge in his cell,” he said. And she dismissed the rumors that they are no longer a couple: “I have been by his side and I will continue to do so”.
“Íñigo is the best person I know and his biggest problem was saying no and not wanting to let people down, so he tried to find solutions,” said Victoria.
Philbrick, 34, looked like a shadow of his former self as he was led in chains to federal court in Manhattan for sentencing Monday afternoon.
Gone was the posh boy raised in the US that swept the art world by storm before it all fell apart.
His distinctive short, styled hair has now turned into messy ginger-colored curly locks, the fashionable short beard replaced by an unstyled stubble.
Instead of the suits In the designer suit he used to wear, Philbrick wore a baggy khaki prison jumpsuit. And instead of his expensive watch, this time his wrists were handcuffed.
Philbrick, 34, looked like a shadow of his former self as he was led in chains to a federal courthouse in Manhattan (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Galerie Patrick Sequin)
The former art dealer took short steps as he entered Courtroom 23A of the US Southern District Court. He paused briefly to gaze into the eyes of Victoria, who was sitting on the third row of wooden benches behind him.
The glamorous Victoria, fully made up under her face mask, waved to him as she shook hands with her sister Ellie. She then began to sob almost immediately before making an effort to regain her composure with deep breaths.
Prosecutor Jessica Feinstein told the court that Philbrick had embarked on a “sophisticated” plan that had fooled even seasoned players in the art world.
The Assistant US Attorney said: “You can make a fraud last a long time when you have relationships of trust that you build over many years. Some of his lies were surprisingly brazen. Forged signatures. Fabricated contracts. invented individuals. Many of his victims will never recover.”
Before learning his fate, Philbrick addressed the court.
Standing and reading the prepared comments, he spoke of his “remorse and sadness for the harm I have caused” and apologized to everyone involved.
Speaking of his daughter, he described his grief at not being able to “support her in any way,” which he said caused “by far the most anguish I have ever experienced in my life.”
< p class=”paragraph”>Philbrick described his own behavior as “outrageous and inexcusable.”
Judge Stein asked him: “Why did you do this? “Vanity and greed,” Philbrick responded.
When he was taken to jail, he touched his right hand to his chest, then used it to blow Victoria a kiss , whispering words that couldn’t be heard before she waved back but that she said afterward were “I love you.”