Art critic Stefan Koldehoff (right) with a colleague before the start of the trial
Wolfgang Beltracchi (born Wolfgang Fischer on February 4, 1951 in Höxter) is a German painter and art forger. On October 27, 2011, he was accused of commercial gang fraud in one of the world's largest art forgery trials since the end of World War II. Investigators estimate the total profit from the fraud to be between 20 and 50 million euros.
Helene Beltracci with her lawyers
Wolfgang Beltracci at the court room
The 10th Grand Criminal Chamber of the Cologne regional Court, headed by Judge Wilhelm Kremer, sentenced the defendant to six years in prison for "organized fraud."
Helene Beltracci at the court room
Wolfgang Beltracci discussing with his lawyers
His wife Helene, 53, received four years in prison, and her sister Jeanette received a one-year, nine-month suspended sentence. Beltracchi's old friend and accomplice, Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus, 67, was sentenced to five years in prison by the Cologne Regional Court.
Judge Wilhelm Kremer opens the hearing
Lawyer Reinhard Georg Birkenstock at a press conference
Helene Beltracci leaves the security area of the court house
The Beltracchis have been free since the verdict on October 27th 2011 – their more than a year of pre-trial detention was suspended subject to strict conditions. The goal is to have them placed in open prison.
The Beltraccies leave the court house after one year pre-trial detention.