Case Review: Karlsson v. Mangan

By Chris Michaels

On 11 June 2014, Plaintiff Anders Karlsson filed a case in the Central District of California against various individuals and entities alleging that they set up fraudulent investment schemes involving fake or forged artworks, attributed to Pollock and de Koonig, as well as breached their fiduciary duties to Plaintiff regarding his investment in a luxury yacht. The Plaintiff, Anders Karlsson, is engaged in mining, procuring, and wholesale and retail purchases and sales of boutique, minerals, fossils, gems, and natural history items. The named defendants are, John Leo Mangan III, Michael William Force, Taryn Burns, Jovian “John” Re, Leslie James, and the entities Art Possible, LLC, Art Force, LLC, and Raven Art, Inc.

In the Complaint, Karlsson alleges that his former personal friend of nineteen years, Defendant Leslie James, became aware that Karlsson was about to generate substantial sums of investment capital through the sale of an interest in one of his companies. The Complaint states that, armed with this information, Defendant James and the other Defendants conspired and acted in concert to defraud Karlsson through the use of fake and/or forged artworks.

The first claim in the Complaint involves the alleged breach of a Joint Venture Agreement (“JVA”) between Karlsson and Defendants Raven Art, Inc., Mangan, and Force. Pursuant to the JVA, Karlsson purchased a Jackson Pollock painting for $1,000,000, in which Karlsson maintained a 23.5% interest. The Raven Art Defendants represented the Pollock to be authentic and, according to Karlsson, he relied on their representations when purchasing the painting. Under the terms of the JVA, the painting was not to be moved from storage in Long Island City, New York without Karlsson’s written consent nor without insurance approved by Karlsson. Additionally, the JVA stipulated that painting was not to be sold for less than $30,000,000.