- A famous Brazilian painting worth $58 million was hidden under the bed of an alleged scammer.
- It belonged to Genevieve Boghici, who lost $142 million in art, bank transfers, and jewelry in a suspected con.
A famous painting worth $58 million (300m Brazillian reais) has been found hidden under the bed of an alleged scammer who police say helped con a widow out of her late husband's art collection.
The "Sol Poente" painting is by Tarsila do Amaral, one of South America's most well-renowned 20th-century artists, and was previously exhibited at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
A police raid in Rio de Janeiro on August 10 recovered the painting as part of an investigation into a gang that conned a wealthy widow.
The victim, 82-year-old Genevieve Boghici, is the widow of the late art collector Jean Boghici. Police say she was convinced to pay large amounts of money for the " spiritual treatment" of her daughter, Sabine, a gang member posing as a clairvoyant who prophesied her imminent death.
Her daughter, however, was entirely in on the scam and swindled her mother out of more than $142 million in art, bank transfers, and jewelry, Reuters reports,
Sabine and an accomplice posing as a psychic "began to take the artwork from the (mother's) house, claiming that the painting was cursed with something negative, with negative energy that needed to be prayed over," said a Rio de Janeiro police officer Gilberto Ribeiro, per the Mail Online.
Police state they arrested four gang members, including the victim's daughter.
A video has been circulating on social media showing the exact moment police uncovered the art.
—Jornal O Dia (@jornalodia) August 10, 2022
Whoops of joy and happy laughter can be heard when the painting is turned over and revealed.
In total, 16 paintings were stolen, including works by renowned Brazilian artists like Cicero Dias, Rubens Gerchman, and Alberto Guignard, police say, per Reuters.