
Billion-dollar scandal turns “King of Manuscripts” into the “Madoff of France” - bookofjoe
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/business/aristophil-lheritier-rare-books.html
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DyslexicAtheist
what a story. he even wins the lottery (literally) along the way. I'd imagine
a lot of people now are desperately trying to put distance between themselves
and this guy.

the top comment from the article was spot on:

 _> To compare this to Madoff is catchy but wrong. Instead, try Goldman Sachs.
Vrain, who provided inflated appraisals of manuscripts, which he is now buying
as they are auctioned off at bargain prices, repeats the killings some on Wall
Street made on the way up using friendly bond ratings conjured up by pliant
rating agencies to sell them and then snapping them up after reality trumped
those fanciful ratings into financial rubble._

the whole market of art and auctions is very dodgy.

