LA pawnshop owner indicted for allegedly trying to sell stolen Andy Warhol trial proof
A Los Angeles pawn shop owner was indicted for allegedly trying to sell a stolen print trail proof created by famed artist Andy Warhol, federal prosecutors said.
They say that 58-year-old Glenn Steven Bednarsh, a resident of Farmington, Michigan and formerly Beverly Hills, shipped the proof from an auction house to Dallas and then lied about it to FBI agents when they began their investigation in 2021, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Bednarsh was charged with a two-count federal grand jury indictment wth conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen goods. He's expected to be arraigned in coming weeks.
Prosecutors say that Bednarsh, who operated a pawn shop in the Mid-City area, knowingly purchased the stolen Warhol trial proof for $6,000 in February 2021. The proof, which depicted Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, is worth an estimated $175,000, prosecutors said. It was print 44 of 46 that Warhol made, and was stolen from someone's home in 2021.
"The victim informed law enforcement of its theft soon after, as well as the original gallery in West Hollywood that sold him the artwork. Days after the theft, the thief brought the artwork to a pawnshop, which purchased it," prosecutors said in their release.
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They further allege that he asked a co-conspirator, 58-year-old Hudson Ohio man Brian Alec Light, a former resident of downtown Los Angeles, to help him sell the stolen trial proof, something that artists use to experiment with variations and adjustments before creating their final work. It allows the printer to pause operations before they print the remaining copies.
"Light then contacted the Beverly Hills of an auction house based in Dallas about selling the Warhol trial proof," the DOJ's release said.
In March 2021, prosecutors say that Bednarsh transported the trial proof to the Beverly Hills auction house office, where it was then shipped to Dallas. Light e-signed an auction house consignment agreement, notifying the auction house to tell them that he dropped off the item and also asked for a cash advance.
"An employee of the auction house in Dallas reached out to the gallery in West Hollywood for its opinion of the piece. The gallery immediately recognized the piece as the stolen piece of art," the DOJ's release aid.
They contacted the FBI, who began to inquire about the stolen art. Light told them that he bought it at a garage sale in Culver City for $18,000 and provided them a fake receipt.
Bednarsh is also accused of lying to agents by telling them that Light asked him to store the proof for him, and that he only agreed to do so out of friendship and not for personal gain.
Light pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods in Nov. 2024 and faces sentencing in May. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
