Real estate developer and art collector Michael Shvo has been indicted for dodging more than $1 million in taxes on the purchase of fine art, furniture, jewelry and a Ferrari Spider.
Shvo — who owns pieces by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and François-Xavier Lalanne — turned himself in to the Manhattan DA’s office Thursday on charges of criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing.
Among other rackets, he is accused of scheming with shipping companies to make it seem as if his big-ticket buys were being shipped to the tax haven of the Cayman Islands, when they were actually being sent to his New York addresses.
New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said Shvo went to “great lengths to defraud New Yorkers.”
The millionaire, who was released on $500,000 bail, vows to fight the charges.
“Mr. Shvo looks forward to his day in court, where he will mount a defense to all charges related to his art business, and is confident he will be acquitted. While Mr. Shvo is prominent in the art world, he has not committed any crime, nor did he act with any criminal intent whatsoever,” said Shvo’s spokesman Ronn Torossian.