The former owner of a Los Angeles pawnshop is expected to be sentenced Tuesday for lying to investigators about his connection to stolen Andy Warhol art.
Glenn Bednarsh, 59, formerly of Beverly Hills, pleaded guilty in September in Los Angeles federal court to making false statements to the FBI.
Bednarsh bought a stolen Warhol trial proof depicting Soviet Union leader Vladimir Lenin from a pawnshop customer in February 2021 for $6,000. He then asked an associate, Brian Light, 59, formerly of downtown Los Angeles, to help him sell the piece. Light contacted the Beverly Hills office of a Dallas auction house to discuss selling the art, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The trial proof from the pop artist, No. 44 of only 46 made, is worth an estimated $175,000. Trial proofs allow artists to experiment with variations and adjustments before finalizing the work, and allow the printer to pause the process prior to printing the remaining copies.
In March 2021, Bednarsh delivered the piece to the Beverly Hills office of the auction house, which then shipped it to Dallas.
An employee of the auction house reached out to a gallery in West Hollywood for an opinion of the piece. The gallery immediately recognized the artwork as stolen and notified the FBI, court papers show.
Later in March 2021, when FBI agents began inquiring about the stolen Warhol art, Light lied by saying he bought it at a Culver City garage sale for $18,000, and provided a fake receipt, according to Light’s plea agreement.
Bednarsh admitted having lied to FBI agents by telling them Light had asked him to store the Warhol proof for him and that he agreed to do so out of friendship and not for financial gain.
Light pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods and was sentenced last month in downtown Los Angeles to probation and restitution of about $1,915.
The artwork was stolen by an unknown thief — not Bednarsh or Light — in early 2021 from the owner’s Los Angeles County home, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Days after the theft, the thief brought the piece to Bednarsh’s pawnshop, where he purchased it, knowing it had been stolen, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.