Heads up they are now on the West Coast. Jason Zenga and Juliann Cyhan are very much still at it. Beware of fake auctions, real auctions with fake representatives (!), forgeries, scams involving a "sick" baby asking for donated free works for the baby's "collection" and fake set-ups from a "gallery" or rep wanting artists to send work which is then stolen, etc... they use relatives names and variants of the names we know in addition to code names (ebay etc). Not only do they scam buyers but also artists. Zenga has also started a you-guessed-it ART blog where he gains direct access to artists: artistsinsideout.blogspot.com/

"Last month was the big Art of Elysium event in LA. Jason contacted me over the summer about being a part of it. He said my wife and I would be able to attend. Sent many emails, suggested hotels to stay in, looked forward to meeting, etc. This went on for months, with emails on a regular basis. I looked into Art of Elysium and saw that it was legit. So I sent him a painting and followed up with an email regarding our attendance at the event. We thought it would be fun to rub elbows with hollywood for the evening. He assured me that my attendance was set and that an invitation was forth coming. We spoke on the phone at length to confirm. Flights were booked. The week before the event I had not recieved an invite, but he assured me that everything was set and that worst case he would email me the info and he would get us in. I felt like something was off, but the gears were in motion, my wife had bought a gown. So we flew to Cali with our 5 year old daughter... As the event neared I noticed Jason was not responding to my texts or emails. Which was strange as he had been very responsive. That sinking feeling in my stomach began. My wife and I were giving him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he was just busy with the event, but surely everything would work out. On that saturday, the day the event was scheduled, I hadn't heard anything. I knew something was wrong. My emails, texts, and phone calls to him were ignored. I did a google search on him and realized immediately what was up. He's a scam artist and a thief. I almost blew through the roof, I felt like a sucker. I told my wife, who was dissappointed to say the least. We were out airfare, time, and a painting. I contacted the charity and they denied working with Jason. The address I sent the artwork to was not the address the charity had work delivered. The sky was falling. But, because Jason is on facebook, I was able to track down the contact in LA whom he had me send my work to. I contacted this person, pretending to be excited about the charity, and just wanted to see if my art had arrived safely. Once she confirmed that she had the piece, I informed her that she was trafficking stolen artwork, that the authorities and my attorney had been notified, and that all she needed to do was give back the piece. Two days later I had my brother show up at her place at 8 am and retrieve it. I contacted Jason, but he never responded. Until yesterday, when he saw the thread on Doze's page. He claims he never intended on stealing the painting. That he was working tirelessly for the event. That it was all a misunderstanding. But notice, he did not go out on that thread and attempt to clear his name.

To be honest, I don't know how people like this exist. I don't understand the mentality. But in the art community, we are easy targets. We want our art careers to succeed, and we often work without nets. We take chances, and they often turn into amazing experiences. We grow our creativity and our community. We build trust in like minded people. It reaffirms our beliefs. But this guy is poison."

This artist was lucky. Most aren't. You'd be amazed who they've tapped lately. People need to speak up and share their stories to help prevent others from being taken.

Be careful and spread the word. -BLK/MRKT