Ontario art dealer Jim White pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 26, 2025, to uttering forged documents and possessing property obtained by crime for trafficking, in connection with Canada's largest art fraud case involving thousands of forged artworks falsely attributed to the late Anishinaabe painter Norval Morrisseau. White was identified as a 'major distributor' in the scheme.
Ontario art dealer Jim White pleads guilty to selling forged Morrisseau artworks
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Ontario art dealer Jim White pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 26, 2025, to uttering forged documents and possessing property obtained by crime for trafficking, in connection with Canada's largest art fraud case involving thousands of forged artworks falsely attributed to the late Anishinaabe painter Norval Morrisseau. White was identified as a 'major distributor' in the scheme.
Trending- 1 2007: Norval Morrisseau died.
- 2 2020: The Morrisseau investigation launched after Insp. Jason Rybak watched 'There Are No Fakes'.
- 3 March 2023: Jim White and seven other people were charged.
- 4 Wednesday, June 26, 2025: Jim White pleaded guilty.
- 5 August 7: Jim White's sentencing is scheduled.
- Jim White's guilty plea is considered a 'watershed moment' in the long-running art fraud case, confirming the existence of widespread forgeries.
- Sentencing for Jim White is scheduled for August 7.
What: Ontario art dealer Jim White pleaded guilty to charges related to selling forged artworks falsely attributed to Norval Morrisseau.
When: Wednesday, June 26, 2025 (guilty plea); charges were laid in March 2023; the investigation launched in 2020; Norval Morrisseau died in 2007; sentencing is scheduled for August 7.
Where: Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. The counterfeiting rings were based in Thunder Bay and Southern Ontario.
Why: White admitted his role in handling and distributing forged artworks as part of a large-scale art fraud scheme, which he had previously denied existed.
How: White pleaded guilty to uttering forged documents and possessing property obtained by crime for the purpose of trafficking. He consigned the forgeries to auction houses and galleries across Canada.