Former Birmingham Art Dealer Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison for Defrauding Elderly Clients

DETROIT - Wendy Halstead Beard, 59, of Birmingham, Michigan, was sentenced today to 5 years and 3 months in prison for wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Joining in the announcement was Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Beard was sentenced before United States District Judge Judith E. Levy in Ann Arbor. Beard's sentence follows her guilty plea to one count of wire fraud arising from a multi-year scheme in which she received millions of dollars' worth of fine art photography prints on consignment, sold the artwork without the knowledge of the owners, kept the profits for her own personal gain, and continually deceived the owners about the status of their photographs. Judge Levy also ordered Beard to pay restitution in the amount of more than two million dollars.

According to court records, between March 2019 and October 2022, Beard engaged in an ongoing scheme to defraud dozens of her customers, many of whom were elderly. The primary purpose of the scheme was for Beard to convert to her own use multiple fine art photographs that had been provided to her on a consignment basis, in order to sell those photographs and keep the proceeds for herself (rather than turning over the proceeds to the consignors). She also took thousands of dollars in payments from other victims, for photographs which she then failed to deliver. On at least one occasion Beard victimized two individuals with one photograph-never providing the photograph to the purchaser while also failing to pay the original consigner following the sale.

When questioned by her victims about the whereabouts of their artwork (or their share of the proceeds), Beard repeatedly lied to them, inventing more and more ridiculous justifications for her delay in repayment or return of consigned property. These excuses consisted of, among other things, exaggerating the severity of her own health problems, including claiming (1) to have recently been in a coma and (2) to have received a double-lung transplant. Beard also created fake "employee" identities which she used to correspond with her victims in a further effort to delay detection and conceal her theft.

"My office stands ready to investigate and prosecute elder financial abuse in all its forms and will continue to hold perpetrators like Beard accountable for their actions," said United States Attorney Ison. "Beard's ongoing deception was of a level that we rarely see, even in fraud cases, lying to her customers repeatedly in an attempt to conceal her scheme. Today's sentence will hopefully bring a measure of closure for the more than three-dozen victims who trusted Wendy Beard with their valuable artwork."

"Preying on vulnerable individuals in any form is utterly deplorable and will not be tolerated," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "Ms. Beard's calculated criminal acts displayed a complete disregard for the victims who placed their trust in who they believed to be a legitimate business owner. This collaborative investigation, involving the Birmingham Police Department, members of the FBI in Michigan, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, sends an unmistakable message that those who scheme to defraud innocent victims of their fine art will face the most severe penalties under the law. This sentencing represents a crucial step towards ensuring justice for those who fell victim to her criminal behavior."

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Birmingham Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Particka and Adriana Dydell.