Galerie Coste in France - Selling fake pieces, by met on Apr 24, 2022 13:33:47 GMT 1,
Copy below of my initial post removed by Admin, dated 3 June 2020:

Jun 3, 2020 9:33:27 GMT 1 1ate7 said:

Dear all,

I just wanted to quickly inform you that gallerie coste in france did sell me a fake work. I bought a piece in good faith with all relevant infos. The piece that arrived was not signed and dates as described. I had a chance to speak to the artist and it appeared that the work is a fake piece. Hence, pls be aware of this when you talk to them. I also reported to artsy.

Cheers,

nm

Jun 3, 2020 9:35:07 GMT 1 1ate7 said:

I did tried to communicate with them but they simply ghost me now.

Galerie Costé in Honfleur, France (previously in nearby Deauville) is notorious for selling fakes, and has been doing so for years.

It is connected with Unik Galerie, which is or was based in Pont-l'Évêque, France.

These entities are also tied to Miamian Auctions House — a Florida corporation with a French telephone number, that sells an exceptional number of counterfeit pieces.


All the above are owned by the same individual, Mickael Flahaut.

__________


Flahaut appears responsible for a few forum members having previously been targeted:

(i) gripin, who was offered a counterfeit Girl with Balloon print by Unik Galerie, complete with fake Pest Control COA (*);

(ii) bonsai, who traded his Banksy silver Flag print (edition number 558/1000) circa 2016, and received a counterfeit Golf Sale (* and *); [24 April 2022 edit: Second linked post unfortunately removed by Admin.]

and

(iii) Howard Johnson, who ended up with a counterfeit Happy Choppers in 2015, which originally came from Unik Galerie (*).

__________


So many obviously-fake lots in sales held by Miamian Auctions state they'll be shipped from France and accompanied by "un certificat" — leading me to believe they were consigned by Mickael Flahaut himself.

In which case, a key purpose of the auction house becomes clear: To serve as a superficially credible, online platform for offloading fakes, perhaps especially those the owner would find more difficult (and risky) selling to punters face-to-face in one of his galleries.

The vast number of fakes sold by Miamian Auctions in particular is noteworthy. What it points to is calculated fraud by Flahaut. This, as opposed to innocent errors or incompetence.

__________


For some time, I've wanted to start a thread on this subject myself. But procrastination kept me back, partly due to the scale of the fakery. I didn't know where to begin, since there were so many examples of cases to choose from.

It was therefore a relief when the shenanigans of Galerie Costé and Miamian Auctions were identified and discussed in an excellent warning-thread started by vort in October 2019, regarding fake Keith Haring pieces.

Regrettably, however, that entire thread was removed from public view or deleted. What I assume is that Mickael Flahaut may have used legal threats to pressure Admin and get it taken down.

__________


For the benefit of forum Staff Members, at this point it's worth mentioning:

(i) a bluff tactic commonly used in matters like these; and

(ii) the actual legal position regarding defamation (previously mentioned in another thread*). [24 April 2022 edit: Linked post unfortunately removed by Admin.]


When a clown (e.g. a con artist or bad businessperson) is unhappy about what has been written about them or their business, they're sometimes tempted to throw around fancy words like "libel" or "defamation". The objective is to intimidate people who don't know the law, in the hope they will self-censor or remove content which is commercially inconvenient to the clown.

As any lawyer can confirm, what's important to keep in mind is that truth is an absolute defence to a libel claim. All types of defamation (including libel) require a false statement of fact. So if an article or post is accurate, then by definition it cannot be libellous / defamatory.

__________


Admin — Please be aware that removing scam-warning threads from public view will only result in more members like 1ate7 being left ignorant and susceptible to fraud.


That which, varying a once famous phrase, we may call the genius of universal publicity, has some disagreeable results, but the wholesome ones are greater and more numerous. Selfishness, injustice, cruelty, tricks, and jobs of all sorts shun the light; to expose them is to defeat them.

Copy below of my initial post removed by Admin, dated 3 June 2020:

Jun 3, 2020 9:33:27 GMT 1 1ate7 said:

Dear all,

I just wanted to quickly inform you that gallerie coste in france did sell me a fake work. I bought a piece in good faith with all relevant infos. The piece that arrived was not signed and dates as described. I had a chance to speak to the artist and it appeared that the work is a fake piece. Hence, pls be aware of this when you talk to them. I also reported to artsy.

Cheers,

nm

Jun 3, 2020 9:35:07 GMT 1 1ate7 said:

I did tried to communicate with them but they simply ghost me now.

Galerie Costé in Honfleur, France (previously in nearby Deauville) is notorious for selling fakes, and has been doing so for years.

It is connected with Unik Galerie, which is or was based in Pont-l'Évêque, France.

These entities are also tied to Miamian Auctions House — a Florida corporation with a French telephone number, that sells an exceptional number of counterfeit pieces.


All the above are owned by the same individual, Mickael Flahaut.

__________


Flahaut appears responsible for a few forum members having previously been targeted:

(i) gripin, who was offered a counterfeit Girl with Balloon print by Unik Galerie, complete with fake Pest Control COA (*);

(ii) bonsai, who traded his Banksy silver Flag print (edition number 558/1000) circa 2016, and received a counterfeit Golf Sale (* and *); [24 April 2022 edit: Second linked post unfortunately removed by Admin.]

and

(iii) Howard Johnson, who ended up with a counterfeit Happy Choppers in 2015, which originally came from Unik Galerie (*).

__________


So many obviously-fake lots in sales held by Miamian Auctions state they'll be shipped from France and accompanied by "un certificat" — leading me to believe they were consigned by Mickael Flahaut himself.

In which case, a key purpose of the auction house becomes clear: To serve as a superficially credible, online platform for offloading fakes, perhaps especially those the owner would find more difficult (and risky) selling to punters face-to-face in one of his galleries.

The vast number of fakes sold by Miamian Auctions in particular is noteworthy. What it points to is calculated fraud by Flahaut. This, as opposed to innocent errors or incompetence.

__________


For some time, I've wanted to start a thread on this subject myself. But procrastination kept me back, partly due to the scale of the fakery. I didn't know where to begin, since there were so many examples of cases to choose from.

It was therefore a relief when the shenanigans of Galerie Costé and Miamian Auctions were identified and discussed in an excellent warning-thread started by vort in October 2019, regarding fake Keith Haring pieces.

Regrettably, however, that entire thread was removed from public view or deleted. What I assume is that Mickael Flahaut may have used legal threats to pressure Admin and get it taken down.

__________


For the benefit of forum Staff Members, at this point it's worth mentioning:

(i) a bluff tactic commonly used in matters like these; and

(ii) the actual legal position regarding defamation (previously mentioned in another thread*). [24 April 2022 edit: Linked post unfortunately removed by Admin.]


When a clown (e.g. a con artist or bad businessperson) is unhappy about what has been written about them or their business, they're sometimes tempted to throw around fancy words like "libel" or "defamation". The objective is to intimidate people who don't know the law, in the hope they will self-censor or remove content which is commercially inconvenient to the clown.

As any lawyer can confirm, what's important to keep in mind is that truth is an absolute defence to a libel claim. All types of defamation (including libel) require a false statement of fact. So if an article or post is accurate, then by definition it cannot be libellous / defamatory.

__________


Admin — Please be aware that removing scam-warning threads from public view will only result in more members like 1ate7 being left ignorant and susceptible to fraud.


That which, varying a once famous phrase, we may call the genius of universal publicity, has some disagreeable results, but the wholesome ones are greater and more numerous. Selfishness, injustice, cruelty, tricks, and jobs of all sorts shun the light; to expose them is to defeat them.