Famed sculptor Jeff Koons and the superdealer Larry Gagosian are pulling a Ponzi scheme on the world’s richest art collectors, according to a scathing new lawsuit by multimillionaire investor Steven Tananbaum.
Tananbaum, head of the $24 billion GlobalTree Asset Management hedge fund, has paid Koons $13.05 million since 2013 for three sculptures — yet hasn’t received the pieces or even proof that their fabrication is underway.
Tananbaum accuses Koons and his Manhattan dealer Gagosian of using “new money” to “pay old obligations.”
The duo bleed “collectors of deposits and payments [by] drawing on their funding without supplying a product in exchange,” according to the Manhattan Supreme Court suit. Read more