Fraud defendant John Hedemark has for over 20 years sold paintings under the fictitious artist names Werner Jensen, Erik Krohn and Knut Olesen. Today he was sentenced to one year in prison for fraud. He has also been sentenced to pay a total of NOK 653,443 in damages to 16 different victims in the case. The police have also succeeded in confiscating over 200 of the artist’s pictures. Want to appeal – Are you going to appeal? – 100 percent certain, writes John Hedemark in an SMS to news. – Very surprising and very strange reasoning of the problem that we thought we explained quite thoroughly in court. But we were clearly not heard on this, so the argument must be sharpened in the appeal. And now we know a lot more about the police’s basis, so we can use that information to do better in the next court, writes Hedemark. E24 mentioned the verdict first. Police attorney Andreas Meeg-Bentzen tells news that he has not read the verdict, but has recorded what is written in the press. – He has been convicted for what he has been charged with. Beyond that, I have to come back for further comments, says Meeg-Bentzen. This is the “Werner Jensen” case In August 2020, plainclothes police raided the gallery at Frogner and seized over 200 works of art. The paintings they were looking for were signed Werner Jensen, Knut Olesen and Erik Krohn. In the interview with news, Hedemark admitted that he painted under all three of these names. Hedemark is now charged with gross fraud. In total, the customers must have paid 272,000 for the pictures signed by fictitious artists. Six artists have also reported Hedemark for embezzlement and believe they have never been paid for artwork Hedemark exhibited in his gallery. Do you think he falsified the CVs The customers only found out who “Werner Jensen” was when Hedemark himself admitted to news that it was an alias. The prosecution believes that Hedemark deliberately failed to tell the customers the truth and thus defrauded them by charging for works of art that are in fact worthless. A central part of the police’s evidence in court was that they believe Hedemark falsified the CVs of the fictitious artists and used this to mislead the customers. Among other things, Hedemark stated that Werner Jensen lived in Germany and that his art has been represented at a number of exhibitions which the police believe have never taken place. Hedemark, for his part, has denied that the CVs were central to the sale of the art. Hedemark is also charged with six cases of embezzlement and is said to have sold art on behalf of other artists – without paying them for it. Denies fraud Hedemark has always pleaded not guilty to fraud and embezzlement, but nevertheless pleaded guilty to the following charges when the case was in court last month: Violation of the Art Tax Act Having kept a car hidden from creditors Violation of the Weapons Act, after the police found a pepper spray at his house – I’m an artist. Clearly. I’m not a fraud. That is a claim the police have made. It will be at their expense, Hedemark told news in connection with the case going to court. He has stuck to this explanation. The prosecutor asked in advance for one year and three months in prison for Hedemark.
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Here is the verdict in the Werner Jensen case – news Culture and entertainment
