Overview
- Federal agents carried out a court-authorized search of Dane Fine Art in Ardmore on Wednesday, and an on-scene reporter saw FBI agents entering and exiting the gallery while one agent said a search warrant was being executed.
- The FBI declined to say what it was seeking, describing the action only as court-authorized law-enforcement activity; the agency has provided no public details about the scope of the inquiry.
- Journalists found incorporation records that give the gallery a mailing address tied to a property once owned by Leslie Isen, who is married to Nathan “Nicky” Isen, but those records do not by themselves prove ownership or criminal involvement.
- Dane Fine Art continued to offer works through an online auction during the episode and told reporters it would not comment when asked about the search or whether Isen is connected to the business.
- Nathan Isen pleaded guilty in 2015 to laundering proceeds through art sales and has faced past reporting alleging forged works, and specialists say high-end art markets can be vulnerable to money-laundering and authenticity disputes that prompt federal probes.