A Regional Court in Prague has found entrepreneur Jaroslav Fröhlich, his
wife, and a business partner guilty of large-scale fraud for having
knowingly sold forgeries of works by famous Czech artists to collectors and
galleries. They are expected to appeal.
Jaroslav Fröhlich was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to
pay 15 million crowns in damages. His wife Eva Fröhlichová was given
sentenced to six years, their colleague Martin Trokan to seven years, and
both ordered to pay 5 million crowns in damages.
The Fröhlich couple, along with a business partner, sold paintings
imitating the style of artists such as Josef Čapek, Josef Lada, František
Kupka, Emil Filla and Jan Zrzavý for some 30 million crowns in total.
Most of the works appeared on the market between 2013 and 2016. The police
seized unsold forgeries that, if genuine, would be worth an estimated 50
million crowns.