Thomas Doyle, a recidivist fraudster, pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of New York to wire fraud for orchestrating a scheme to steal and sell a valuable Gustave Courbet painting, "Mother and Child on a Hammock."
Doyle, 68, of Connecticut, previously convicted of art-related fraud in 2011, defrauded an art dealer by taking custody of the painting under the pretense of finding a buyer. He then falsely informed the owner he had sold it for $550,000.
In reality, Doyle's associate sold the artwork through a Manhattan gallery for $125,000, providing false provenance. Doyle kept all proceeds, spending them on personal expenses and debts, and never remitted any funds to the victim. He subsequently lied, blaming a purported buyer for non-payment.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said, "Thomas Doyle defrauded the owner of a valuable painting by telling a series of brazen lies to get the painting and then sell it so he could keep the profits for himself." Doyle faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and has agreed to forfeit all proceeds and pay $125,000 in restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for November 9, 2026.