Conmen who faked Banksy artwork sentenced - 02/07/2010

A pair of men who sold fake Banksy prints on eBay pleaded guilty to the charge but escaped jail yesterday (July 1st).

Grant Champkins-Howard, 44, and Lee Parker, 45, were instead given a suspended sentence of 12 months by Kingston Crown Court.

Judge Suzan Matthews said: "Neither of you should be under any illusion that I regard both of you as nothing more than a pair of old-fashioned conmen.

"You saw a way, and exploited a way, of making a quick and easy profit."

The men were also given 240 hours of community service. They claimed the prints were produced by Pictures on Walls, a company with exclusive rights to Banksy's work.

Art collectors were convinced by the duo to pay up to £2,000 for a print and they made tens of thousands of pounds altogether.

Banksy is a pseudonym and no-one knows much about him except that he is a British graffiti artist.

Posted by Juliet Miller