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Former Art Dealer to Remain Free Pending Trial in Fraud Case

Marina resident, Matthew Taylor pleaded not guilty to charges. His is allowed to leave his home only to see doctors, attorneys and attend court appearances.

 An ex-art dealer accused of selling paintings stolen from a Los Angeles gallery and unloading forged works to an unwitting collector was allowed today to remain free pending trial.

In her order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Woehrle revised the conditions of pre-trial release for Matthew Taylor, who pleaded not guilty this week to charges contained in a 10-count superseding indictment accusing him of a multimillion-dollar art fraud scheme.

Woehrle placed Taylor on "home incarceration" restrictions, in which he is allowed to leave his Marina del Rey apartment only for doctor and attorney visits and court appearances.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Bowman had argued that Taylor is a flight risk not "amenable" to pre-trial supervision and should be jailed. The prosecutor said he would appeal Woehrle's order.

"They want to put him in custody so he can't defend himself," defense attorney Harland Braun told the court.

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A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Taylor last September on charges related to alleged art theft and a long-running fraud that targeted a Los Angeles art collector.

A jury trial is set for April 3.

The indictment charges Taylor, 43, of Vero Beach, Fla., with defrauding businessman Fred Leeds of nearly $2 million over a 16-year period by selling him about 115 paintings. In some cases, paintings by unknown artists were made to appear to be the work of such masters as Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, prosecutors allege.

To conceal the true nature of the paintings, Taylor allegedly put forged signatures on the works and painted over or otherwise hid signatures from the real artists, according to the indictment.

In court today, Taylor said Leeds "was my closest friend in the world for 12 years. ... I will reveal everything at trial."

Taylor's attorney alleged that Leeds had made an "insane allegation" that he thought he was buying the work of famous artists "for next to nothing."

Federal prosecutors contend Taylor placed fake labels on the paintings to suggest the artworks were once part of prestigious art collections, including those of New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum.

The indictment further alleges that Taylor laundered and transferred across state lines $105,000 that he had taken from Leeds by selling him four forged paintings in September 2006.

Taylor is charged with three counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and one count each of interstate transportation of stolen property and possession of stolen property.

The mail fraud charges each carry a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while the remaining counts carry a maximum of 10 years each, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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