Fraudster who tried to sell grandfather’s ancient statues to Sotheby’s foiled by fake invoices
A fraudster attempted to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby's using forged invoices. Andrew Crowley was caught when forensics revealed the documents were created with modern printing methods. He received a two-year suspended sentence for his actions.
- ▪Andrew Crowley tried to sell three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette to Sotheby's.
- ▪The items, if real, would have been valued at approximately £680,000, but the judge reduced the estimate to £340,000.
- ▪Crowley's fake invoices were found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern.
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NewsUKCrimeFraudster who tried to sell grandfather’s ancient statues to Sotheby’s foiled by fake invoicesProsecutors alleged that, if real, the items together would have been worth about £680,000 based on previous salesPol Allingham Friday 22 May 2026 16:34 BSTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":false,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2982103","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/andrew-crowley-fraud-sothebys-statues-b2982103.html","title":"Fraudster tried to sell ancient statues using fake invoices"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-53261","index":0}Andrew Crowley…
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