Jasper Johns: Assistant Accused of Stealing Art

After working together for over 25 years, James Meyer, the assistant to Contemporary painter Jasper Johns (who is 83!), was arrested for stealing 22 of Johns unfinished paintings and artwork from his Connecticut home and selling them at auctions in Manhattan, totaling about $3 million (after the auction fees) from September 2006 through February 2012. Meyers stole the paintings by forging paperwork to make it seem like the unfinished artwork of Johns, was actually given as a gift and even created fake inventory numbers for the pieces in question.

If convicted, Meyer's can receive a sentence of 20 years in prison for one count of wire fraud and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.