A Berks County man who served a federal prison sentence for art fraud could end up back behind bars.
Carter Reese, a Harvard-educated former fine arts and history teacher at the prestigious Hill School in Pottstown, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to selling fake works of art. He admitted he lied about the authenticity of pieces he claimed were by world-renowned artists like Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.
The 78-year-old Reese pleaded guilty to mail fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced that September to 60 days in federal prison.
Reese’s sentence also included four months of home detention and two years of federal probation. Court documents filed in May by his probation officer allege he violated his probation in four ways.
A probation violation hearing has been scheduled for June 30.
According to the report filed by the federal probation officer, the alleged violations involve finances.
A condition of Reese’s probation was that he pay $236,325 in restitution and fines within 120 days of his sentencing, which would have been on Jan. 12.
To date, the report says, Reese still owes $182,258 in restitution and $50,000 in fines.
Reese’s probation also forbade him from incurring any new credit charges or opening additional lines of credit without the approval of his probation officer unless he followed a payment schedule. He was also barred from encumbering or liquidating any assets unless it was directly to pay off restitution or fines.
According to the report, an auction was held at Reese’s estate in April that produced proceeds of $38,818. Only $8,818 of those proceeds were applied toward his restitution.
Reese was given a $60,000 advance from the auction company, which was not approved by the court.
The reports says Reese hired another auction company to sell a painting worth $300,000, but failed to report to the court that he was working with a new auction company. He also did not inform the company about his obligation to pay restitution.
Additionally, a home inspection in late April found multiple Mercedes Benz vehicles parked on Reese’s property. Reese admitted to owning four cars, and further admitted he had listed a van for resale for $39,500.
Another condition of Reese’s probation is that he performs 100 hours of community service. To date, the report says, he has not identified a community service site or completed any hours of service.
Finally, the report says Reese failed to provide the court with accurate information related to his finances, assets and monthly income. An inspection of his property found a large barn containing numerous assets.
There are also three rental properties on the estate that were not disclosed to the court.