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Sellers Busted for Scamming Galleries With Fake Babe Ruth Collectibles

Three art dealers tried to pull the okie-doke on galleries and auction houses for 15 years.

Three art dealers have been charged for allegedly duping galleries and auction houses across the country out of hundreds of thousands of dollars with fake artwork and baseball memorabilia for the last 15 years. Donald Henkel, Mark Henkel, and Raymond Paparella were named in a federal indictment Thursday, in which they were accused of forging signatures of baseball legends, like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and allegedly sold fake paintings that were supposed to have been created by artists, like George Ault. Donald and Mark Henkel, who are brothers, allegedly purchased mundane vintage items then passed those items over to Paparella who sold them to buyers. Victims of the fraudulent art scheme were galleries and auction houses in New York, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, and London.