Orlando Whitfield, author of All That Glitters, discusses his past friendship with Inigo Philbrick, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 for wire fraud and ordered to forfeit $86 million (£68 million).
Whitfield and Philbrick first met as students at Goldsmiths University in London, where they decided to venture into the art dealing business together. Their initial success came with the sale of their first piece for €15,000 (£12,600). Whitfield reminisces about their early days: “We did that thing that you sometimes see in, not exclusively, hip-hop videos, where cash is thrown willy-nilly into the air,” he says. “Which is kind of fun for like the first sort of 10 seconds. And then you suddenly realise that not all of the money is yours. And in fact, the vast majority isn’t, and it took us about 20 minutes to clear it up.”
Whitfield recalls a particular moment of their youthful extravagance: “There was a point at which we’d ordered, you know, frivolously a bottle of champagne and some club sandwiches in room service, and this Portuguese waiter comes up with our food and he’s clearly the same age as us and he’s like two young men in a room full of cash and I think that was quite an odd moment. It’s not my finest hour.”
In the years that followed, Philbrick’s actions escalated, leading him to commit what the FBI describes as the largest art fraud in U.S. history. Philbrick’s scheme involved selling the same high-value artworks to multiple investors and using forged documents to inflate the value of pieces in his possession. His fraudulent activities spanned years and deceived numerous collectors and investors.
Philbrick’s rise in the art world was meteoric, gaining a reputation for his sharp eye and business acumen. However, his practices were built on a foundation of deceit. He leveraged his connections and reputation to perpetuate his fraudulent activities, ultimately resulting in his downfall. The scale and audacity of his actions have left a lasting impact on the art world and serve as a cautionary tale about the potential for corruption within the industry.
In 2022, Philbrick was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to forfeit $86 million. Whitfield’s reflections on their shared past and Philbrick’s subsequent actions offer a unique insight into the mind of one of the art world’s most notorious fraudsters. The story underscores the allure of quick success and the perilous path it can lead to when ethical boundaries are crossed.
You Might Be Interested In:
