#Helly Nahmad

[artcollectorsnews]

Art Crime Pays: Trump Pardons Helly Nahmad, the Art World’s Cartoon Villain

The pardons favored Trump cronies, allies, and business associates — in the manner of a bouncer fingering VIPs from behind a tatty velvet rope at Le Baron during Art Basel Miami Beach

Helly Nahmad Walk

It was April 30, 2014, and Hillel “Helly” Nahmad was doing his best courtroom grovel.

“Your honor, I am ashamed,” the then 35-year-old art dealer told U.S. District Court Judge Jesse M. Furman inside Manhattan’s Thurgood Marshall Courthouse. “My family is a private family and I have brought dishonor to it . . . No matter what your sentence today, I will never forgive myself. Others who love me may forgive, but I will not.”

The scion of the famously secretive Nahmad clan — a three-billion-dollar art-dealing empire heavily leveraged with Picassos and Renoirs and with economic interests across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East — Nahmad was being tried as part of a wide-ranging, 34-defendant racketeering and money-laundering investigation. The case was brought by the Violent and Organized Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, led at the time by Preet Bharara, who was fired by President Donald Trump early in 2017.

The charges against Nahmad — who runs a glitzy secondary-market gallery located on the first floor of the Carlyle Hotel — were weighty enough to galvanize the Feds and sufficiently boldface to inspire an Aaron Sorkin film, the Jessica Chastain vehicle Molly’s Game. According to The New York Times, Nahmad was charged with captaining a $100 million gambling ring that included professional athletes, actors Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio, and several organized crime figures, among them Russian oligarch and Trump acquaintance Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov (the Uzbek gangster is still at large in the vast criminal underworld that is the Russian Federation). Additionally, Nahmad was accused of bilking an unnamed female client described as being in “dire financial circumstances” out of more than $100,000 in an otherwise “routine” art sale.

Facing as many as 100 years in prison, Nahmad was found guilty and sentenced, incredibly, to just a year and a day (he effectively dodged racketeering, money laundering, and conspiracy charges, and was indicted on a single gambling count). He was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, plus forfeit $6.4 million and his interest in Raoul Dufy’s 1937 painting Carnaval à Nice, which was employed in yet another allegedly fraudulent transaction.

Before the trial ended, Nahmad delivered himself of a remarkable allocution. Unlike the statement defendants regularly convey to judges to accept responsibility, humanize themselves, and mitigate sentences, Nahmad’s expression of remorse instead mimicked comic-strip beggary: his plea for leniency described how, after his April 2013 arrest, “Nahmad was a blubbery mess who collapsed into his sister’s arms.” Writing for the now defunct publication DNA Info, reporter James Fanelli also reported on Nahmad’s offer to chaperone underprivileged youth on visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in lieu of prison time: “I do not have a great education in other subjects, but I really do know a lot about art and I think I could really reach young people in a good way and hopefully introduce them to a world they might not otherwise visit.”

The court summarily dismissed such expressions of contrition as insincere. According to Judge Furman: “Mr. Nahmad’s view of the world, at least when he thinks that no one is watching . . . [is] that he can take advantage of the situation. To allow him to use his family’s money to buy his way out of this would sow contempt for the law.”

Fast forward to January 20, 2021. As part of his final febrile hours inside the White House, Donald Trump — the Biff Tannen of rich boy privilege — issued pardons to 73 convicts, including Nahmad, the Snidley Whiplash of the art world. An official White House communication described the 41-year-old art perp as having led “an exemplary life” since his conviction. (Requests for comment on the pardon sent to Nahmad’s gallery went unanswered.)

According to Kenneth P. Vogel of The New York Times, only 25 of Donald Trump’s almost 240 pardons and commutations came through the process the Justice Department normally uses to identify and vet worthy petitions of clemency. The rest favored an ad hoc process that privileged Trump cronies, allies, and business associates — in the manner of a bouncer fingering VIPs from behind a tatty velvet rope at Le Baron during Art Basel Miami Beach.

At first, second, and third glance, the Nahmad pardon suggests a tangle of plutocratic quids, pros, and quos. Nahmad owns the entire 51st floor of Manhattan’s Trump Tower, for which he paid $21 million, in 2016. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman — who previously defended Harvey Weinstein and Martin Shkreli — also helped obtain pardons for two more noteworthy clients: conspiracy theorist and campaign-finance fraudster Dinesh D’Souza and disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Another longtime Brafman client who was recently pardoned: witness-tamperer and tax cheat Charles Kushner, father of Donald Trump’s ex–senior adviser and son-in-law. The relationship patterns are as ugly as a MAGA Christmas sweater. (If other presidents, such as Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, issued controversial pardons — the former pardoned fugitive banker Mark Rich, the latter Yankees owner George Steinbrenner — Trump’s forgiveness stands out for the close proximity of folks he has let off the hook, including former campaign advisers, staffers, and in-laws.)

In a Trump-free universe, pardons and commutations are overseen by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Attorney General.  Typically, they are also reviewed by the judges involved in the original sentencing. Applicants are evaluated on their post-conviction conduct, the seriousness of their crimes, whether they are remorseful, and, ultimately, personal recommendations. Though no recommendations for Nahmad’s pardon are yet forthcoming, Judge Furman characterized his 2014 letters of support as coming from art-market folks who “had some reason to curry favor” with the Nahmads. One letter came from Pace Gallery honcho Marc Glimcher. He told the court that Nahmad “is very simply the most honest and trustworthy person we have the privilege to work with.”

“Gambling has always been a part of my life,” Nahmad told Judge Furman before being convicted, “I watched my father and his friends play games . . . for high stakes. It was a part of his life the way the art business was. It was almost an addiction. It crossed the line into my being part of illegal gambling. I knew we were no longer just betting and I should have stopped. I didn’t and I have only myself to blame.”

Besides throwing his own father under the bus as, ahem, ethically challenged — in 2016 the Panama Papers connected David Nahmad to ownership of a Nazi-looted painting, Amedeo Modigliani’s Seated Man With a Cane (1918) — Nahmad fils conveniently left out his own larcenous worldview. In 2014, a wiretapped phone conversation recorded Helly as saying that wealth can be created by those who “circumvent the system” and “cheat and lie.” Here’s a modest proposal for those sick of having the art trade routinely compared to the shadowy worlds of drug cartels and gun trafficking. Remember Nahmad’s words and who uttered them, reject business as usual, and trash the idea that art crime pays. ❖

[onlytruthnolie]

Trump Pardons Art Dealer Helly Nahmad, Convicted of Running a Gambling Ring Out of Trump Tower, in One of His Final Presidential Acts

Nahmad, who owns an entire floor at Trump Tower, was sentenced to prison in 2014.

Helly Nahmad. Photo ©2014 Patrick McMullan Company, Inc.

In an 11th-hour act, President Donald Trump has pardoned art dealer Helly Nahmad, who was sentenced in 2014 to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to a single federal gambling charge.

Nahmad, a member of the Nahmad family dynasty and the son of art collector David Nahmad, was caught co-organizing an illegal gambling ring worth $100 million out of Trump Tower in New York.

He owns the entirety of the building’s 51st floor, which reportedly cost a collective $21 million.

“President Trump granted a full pardon to Hillel Nahmad,” the White House said in a statement. “This pardon is supported by members of his community. Mr. Nahmad was convicted of a sports gambling offense. Since his conviction, he has lived an exemplary life and has been dedicated to the well-being of his community.”

Authorities raided the Helly Nahmad Gallery in the Carlyle Hotel on New York’s Madison Avenue in 2013, accusing the dealer of financing a high-stakes poker game and sports-betting ring with suspected links to Russian organized-crime figures. Those ties were never proven, although several others convicted in the case were Russian. The initial charges included racketeering, money laundering, and conspiracy, but the sole conviction was for operating an illegal gambling business.

After Nahmad’s arrest, he quickly posted $10 million bail using his Trump Tower pad as collateral, and was spotted courtside at a New York Knicks game, reportedly partying harder than ever in the lead up to his time behind bars.

Despite Nahmad’s wealth and connections, the court refused a more lenient sentence of community service after Nahmad offered to give tours of his gallery to underprivileged youth. In addition to jail time, he had to pay a $30,000 fine, forfeit $6.4 million in profits, and be treated for gambling addiction.

In the end, Nahmad served five months of his sentence in a federal correctional facility in Otisville, New York, before being transferred to a halfway house in the Bronx. He was released from house arrest in May 2015, and made his return to the art scene at Art Basel in Switzerland the following month, with a judge’s permission.

“I am grateful for the pardon and I look forward to continuing to give back to the community,” said Nahmad in an email to Artnet News.

The Nahmad family is a high-profile presence in the international art industry, known for its extensive collection of blue-chip Modern and Impressionist art, rumored to be worth $3 billion.

Nahmad is among 143 late-night pardons and sentence reductions issued by Trump in his final hours in office, including former presidential advisor Steve Bannon and rapper Lil Wayne.

Also given a sentence commutation was Michael Pelletier, who was serving 30 years for a nonviolent marijuana conspiracy offense. Pelletier, who uses a wheelchair and been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of 11, has “thrived as an artist working with oil paints on canvas, and has taken several courses to perfect his skill while incarcerated,” according to the White House.

[surrealistnyc]

On now: A rare chance to see an impressive selection of works by Yves Tanguy and Kay Sage through July 29 at Helly Nahmad in New York.

[realitycovernews]

Gallerist Helly Nahmad Arrested For Suspected Gambling Related Money Laundering

The well known international art dealer Helly Nahmad’s New York gallery was raided by the FBI on Tuesday morning for suspected illegal gambling and money laundering breaches . The gallery located at the Carlyle Hotel on Madison Ave was thoroughly searched and computers were removed by the federal agency. Forbes stated that it was part of a “sweep of illegal gambling rings operated by Russian organised crime.” The New York Times have also reported “Helly Nahmad has been indicted for his role operating and financing high-stakes poker games involving Wall Street financiers, Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes.”

The actions taken on 16 April were part of a wider probe into Russian organised crime in the United States. Nahmad has been named for his involvement with a Bronx plumbing company used to launder profits from suspected gambling. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued statements alleging that one enterprise in this scheme laundered tens of millions of dollars through Cyprus companies and bank accounts. In NY, a 32-year-old JPMorgan Chase branch manager is alleged to have been involved in transactions in order to avoid bank reporting requirements. The Cyprus’ banking system has been under scrutiny as a haven for Russian organised crime for years. Last month a $13 billion bailout of its economy by the EU and IMF devalued the currency by 40%.

It is thought that the funds were placed into real estate and hedge fund investment. Mr. Nahmad, according to the indictment, also wired money $500,000 and $850,000 from his father’s bank account in Switzerland to a bank account in America to help fund the gambling operation. The government is seeking the forfeiture of four high-end properties, including an apartment at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue and two Miami estates, in connection with the case. In a separate case, Mr. Nahmad has been accused of defrauding a client by overpricing a $50k painting by selling it for an overvalued $300,000.

The roots of the Nahmad family are in Aleppo, Syria, where Sephardic Jewish banker Hillel Nahmad lived until just after the second world war. Following anti-Jewish violence in 1947, he moved to Beirut, Lebanon and when the situation there became difficult, he took his three sons, Joseph (Giuseppe), Ezra and David, to Milan in the early 1960s. As teenagers in the 1960s, they began to deal in art. Ezra and David skipped school to trade on the Italian stock market. At a Juan Gris exhibition in Rome organised by cubist dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Ezra and David bought two works – the only pieces sold. Kahnweiler befriended them, selling them works by Picasso, Braque, Gris. With the emergence of the Red Brigades terror group in the 1970s, Milan was perceived as too dangerous, and the family moved again. Joseph and Ezra headed for Monaco, and David to New York. New York’s Helly Nahmad Gallery, on Madison Avenue, is a separate company run by David’s son, who took over his father’s earlier Davlyn Gallery. David Nahmad was the 1996 Backgammon World Champion, and is known for betting large amounts of money on the game. This latest case is part of a Stateside probe into organised crime.

[sundaymails]

Crime Pays: Trump Pardons Leonardo DiCaprio’s BFF, Art Dealer Helly Nahmad, Convicted in International Gambling Scheme

EXCLUSIVE Among Donald Trump’s 143 pardons and commutations: Helly Nahmad, the Madison Avenue art dealer who went to jail after he was convicted in an international gambling scheme. Nahmad spent a year in jail and a halfway house, and was remembered fictionally in the Aaron Sorkin movie, “Molly’s Game.”

Nahmad, it should be noted, is a Trump pal and tenant. He ran an illegal gambling ring worth $100 million out of his apartment in Trump Tower in New York. He owns the building’s 51st floor, which reportedly cost a collective $21 million. He’s really going to have to tip the staff this year!

Coincidentally, another Hollywood name turns up in the official press release for the pardons. Michael Ovitz, also a close friend of DiCaprio, supported the pardon of Anthony Levandowski who, according to the release, pled guilty to a single criminal count arising from civil litigation. Ovitz is the former founder of Creative Artists Agency, and a major art collector. It’s not unreasonable to think he also supported Nahmad’s pardon.

[complaintreviews]

London Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad, Scion of a Powerful Collecting Family, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His Girlfriend

The dealer comes from one of the world's most prominent art dynasties and runs Nahmad Projects in London.

London art dealer Joseph Nahmad, who runs the Mayfair gallery Nahmad Projects, has pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend.

In March, Nahmad attacked his girlfriend, Georgia Barry, at his London home in what prosecutor John Fairhead described in the Evening Standard as a “considerable beating—banging her head against the wall.” Nahmad, who is 31, also pleaded guilty to attacking Barry during another incident in October.

He pleaded not guilty, however, to an alleged attack that took place at the nightclub Tape London, and that charge has since been dropped. “There was an incident in a nightclub where a scratch and bruise were sustained. Very minor injuries,” Nahmad’s attorney, William Clegg, told the Southwark Crown Court.

Clegg also told the court that Barry had previously tried to withdraw her allegations against Nahmad, who said in a statement: “She was in a consensual, loving relationship that at times became toxic.”

Joseph Nahmad comes a long line of powerful art collectors and dealers. (Christie’s honorary chairman Christopher Burge once said the family, which has one of the world’s largest collections of Impressionist, Modern, and contemporary art, had “sold more works of art than anybody alive.”) He is the son of Monaco-based art collector Ezra Nahmad and the nephew of billionaire dealer David Nahmad. Another dealer named Joseph Nahmad, who runs the gallery Nahmad Contemporary in New York, is his cousin. Their galleries are not related.

The latest incident is not the first time that members of the younger Nahmad generation have found themselves in legal trouble. Helly Nahmad, Joseph Nahmad’s cousin in New York, was sentenced to a year in prison in 2014 for his role in a $100 million illegal gambling ring.

Nahmad Projects, the London gallery that Joseph opened with Italian dealer Tommaso Calabro in 2016, is known for pairing historic works by masters such as Jean Tinguely and Pierre-Auguste Renoir with contemporary artists, like Jason Rhoades. Its inaugural show, organized by the celebrated curator Francesco Bonami, presented performance art inspired by the work of Tino Sehgal.

Joseph Nahmad pleaded guilty to two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is currently out on bail until his next court appearance on September 2, where he could be sentenced to serve time in jail.

[ronjawalkinaround]

Worlds

Colette Lumiere, Living Environment (1972–1983)

Elmgreen & Dragset, Tomorrow (2013)

Helly Nahmad, The Collector (1968)

Monira al Qadiri, The Craft (2017)

Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Celebration

Jon Pyplychuk, Cast your empire on a kingdom of doubts (2019)

Now go create yours.

[ashleybravin]

These are several of my books - art books, illustrated books, and, well, book-books that I’ve collected over the years. So many of these have stories behind them, and people they are connected to. Some of them have inscriptions from friends and fellow artists, some have weathered covers from continual use, some are rare, some are heady, some are frivolous, and I love them all. They’ve moved with me from California, to Pittsburgh, to San Francisco, to Los Angeles, and now to Tennessee, and whenever I unpack them, wherever I am starts to feel like home. Of these, two mean the most - “Drawings for Dante’s Inferno by Rico Lebrun” (1963), a limited edition of 2,000 copies with the most incredible drawings that have to be seen in large format to be appreciated. It was given to me by my mentor, and transports me back to the time I spent in his studio where I committed myself to being in the arts for good. The other being the giant “Soutine/Bacon” catalog from the exhibition held at the Helly Nahmad Gallery in New York. In the middle of the summer of 2011 while working on my fellowship, I dropped everything to go to New York to see this show with a friend. This was the first time these two artists had been shown together like this, and I spent so long at that gallery, sketching these incredible paintings that the curator, an expert on Soutine, gave me the catalog with a handwritten note acknowledging our shared appreciation for Soutine. I lost my ability to comprehend large blocks of text when I first started having seizures close to two years ago, and it’s been slow work to build that back up, but I so look forward to reading and enjoying these books again. (at Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbc4crGLqC4/?utm_medium=tumblr

[artcollectorsnews]

The Art of the Gamble: Feds Bust Helly Nahmad

The Helly Nahmad Gallery, long-time resident of the august Upper East Side, and tenant on the ground floor of the Carlyle Hotel, is the latest gallery caught up in a rippling scandal that has effectively closed its operations. The New York Times reported last Tuesday that the FBI conducted an early morning raid on the gallery, arresting owner Hillel (“Helly”) Nahmad (son of David Nahmad) on the charge of collaborating with a host of unsavory characters in money-laundering to support a clandestine gambling operation for high-rolling Russian oligarchs, Hollywood celebrities and sport stars. In a bizarre turn of events it is alleged that Helly wired $1.35 million of his family money towards the illegal gambling dens which were in turn overseen by the 64-year-old Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov (alias “Taiwanchik”), an at-large fugitive who was indicted by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan for rigging the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The Nahmad family, a fixture at auction houses and New York society gatherings, are estimated by Forbes to have a total net worth of more than $3 billion. The quietly elegant exhibitions that the gallery mounted, most recently Soutine/Bacon, and Alexander Calder: the Painter, evoke tasteful privilege and old-world money, but nevertheless also communicate an underlying fixation on the art object as supreme luxury investment. The current crisis is not their first brush with the law. Earlier this year it was reported that the family was being sued for the return of a Modigliani painting, Seated Man on a Chair (1918) that had been reportedly stolen by the Nazis from its original owner. The Nahmads’ found a legal loophole to keep possession of the painting by claiming that the work was in fact owned by the International Art Center—a company that the painting’s original owners claim is an off-shore holding site for the Nahmads’ vast collection.

Reached in London, David Nahmad expressed surprise and disbelief over the current claims leveled against his son’s gallery, calling the FBI’s allegation of a close-knit relationship between his family business and the Russian mob “totally stupid.” The federal investigation of the Nahmad Gallery is ongoing, and is an important link in a sweeping, $100+ million money-laundering case against gambling dens. Other arrests include a cadre of colorfully named characters: Molly (“Poker Princess”) Bloom; Joseph (“Joe the Hammer”) Mancuso; Stan (“Slava”) Greenberg; and Noah (“The Oracle”) Siegel. On Friday, April 19 thirty-odd individuals, including Helly Nahmad, were arraigned in a Manhattan court. All suspects took the same plea: “not guilty.”

[clarencewardartlibrary]

Love Books on Love?

Come see the Art Library’s Valentine’s Day display of books on love, incorporating perspectives across cultures, mediums, and including queer narratives.

Titles on Display:

Dreams of Spring: Erotic Art in China from the Bertholet Collection by Rev Yimen

Love in Asian Art and Culture from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Artist Book “Romance: Spellbound in Soho” by Amelia Castigan

The Pre-Raphaelites: Romance and Realism by Laurence des Cars

A Queer Romance: Lesbians, gay men, and popular culture by Paul Burston and Colin Richardson

Skin Deep, a graphic novel by Charles Burns

Stardust, a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Love from the Helly Nahmad Gallery

New Romance: Art and the Posthuman 

A Romance With Jade from the De An Tang Collection

Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife by Nova Atlas

Romance & Chivalry by Nadia Tscherny and Guy Stair Sainty

LOVE: Contemporary Art Meets Amour edited by Danilo Eccher

The Progress of Love from The Menil Collection, Houston Center for Contemporary Art, Lagos the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, St. Louis

[celeboftea]

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[getmybuzzup]

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[complaintreviews]

London Art Dealer Joseph Nahmad, Scion of a Powerful Collecting Family, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His Girlfriend

The dealer comes from one of the world's most prominent art dynasties and runs Nahmad Projects in London.

London art dealer Joseph Nahmad, who runs the Mayfair gallery Nahmad Projects, has pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend.

In March, Nahmad attacked his girlfriend, Georgia Barry, at his London home in what prosecutor John Fairhead described in the Evening Standard as a “considerable beating—banging her head against the wall.” Nahmad, who is 31, also pleaded guilty to attacking Barry during another incident in October.

He pleaded not guilty, however, to an alleged attack that took place at the nightclub Tape London, and that charge has since been dropped. “There was an incident in a nightclub where a scratch and bruise were sustained. Very minor injuries,” Nahmad’s attorney, William Clegg, told the Southwark Crown Court.

Clegg also told the court that Barry had previously tried to withdraw her allegations against Nahmad, who said in a statement: “She was in a consensual, loving relationship that at times became toxic.”

Joseph Nahmad comes a long line of powerful art collectors and dealers. (Christie’s honorary chairman Christopher Burge once said the family, which has one of the world’s largest collections of Impressionist, Modern, and contemporary art, had “sold more works of art than anybody alive.”) He is the son of Monaco-based art collector Ezra Nahmad and the nephew of billionaire dealer David Nahmad. Another dealer named Joseph Nahmad, who runs the gallery Nahmad Contemporary in New York, is his cousin. Their galleries are not related.

The latest incident is not the first time that members of the younger Nahmad generation have found themselves in legal trouble. Helly Nahmad, Joseph Nahmad’s cousin in New York, was sentenced to a year in prison in 2014 for his role in a $100 million illegal gambling ring.

Nahmad Projects, the London gallery that Joseph opened with Italian dealer Tommaso Calabro in 2016, is known for pairing historic works by masters such as Jean Tinguely and Pierre-Auguste Renoir with contemporary artists, like Jason Rhoades. Its inaugural show, organized by the celebrated curator Francesco Bonami, presented performance art inspired by the work of Tino Sehgal.

Joseph Nahmad pleaded guilty to two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is currently out on bail until his next court appearance on September 2, where he could be sentenced to serve time in jail.

[kmp78]

“In the middle of one of the busiest public gallery-hopping days in recent memory, best pals Leonardo DiCaprio and Jared Leto had a Saturday afternoon man date snaking through the Chelsea art temples. At David Zwirner, which has an eye-poppingly good Diane Arbus show revisiting her 1972 retrospective at MoMA, True Colors observed DiCaprio leaning over to Leto to ask, “So, which are the good ones?” Along for the ride was Helly Nahmad, the Upper East Side gallerist and longtime DiCaprio wingman.” - Vanity Fair 9/22/2022. 🤓There are many things about JL which you, K, do not know about or respect but his knowledge about and collection of art is one of them for which he is respected. Oh, and JL and LD are indeed real friends. Just for the record.

Yeah sure... 😂

Literal YEARS without a single spotting anywhere and now suddenly 2.

Not sus at all! 🤨

[artcollectorsnews]

Guilty Plea for Billionaire Art Dealer "Helly" Nahmad

Helly Nahmad

New York-based billionaire art dealer Hillel "Helly" Nahmad admitted last week to running a $100-million gambling ring that entertained the likes of Wall Street financiers, sports figures, and A-list movie stars from Leonardo diCaprio to Matt Damon.

Nahmad, 35, pleaded guilty in a Manhattan district court to operating a gambling business. He agreed to pay $6,427,000 and to forfeit a Raoul Dufy painting titled “Carnaval à Nice, 1937,” worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. His plea bargain with prosecutors dropped other charges, such as money laundering, racketeering, and conspiracy, that could have landed him in prison for up to 92 years. He now faces up to five years behind bars.

Worth an estimated $3 billion by The New York Times, Nahmad is part of the art-dealing family known for their top-tier collection of Impressionist and Modernist art.

Nahmad says he started with a group of friends "betting on sports games." He worked with Russian organized crime and in April, Nahmad was indicted with 34 others for their roles in two related gambling and bookmaking rings accused of running illegal high-stakes online gambling, as well as underground poker games.

They took in tens of millions of dollars through illegal websites in the U.S. and laundered $100 million through businesses from plumbing to real estate and car repair, according to the indictment.

Russian Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov is at the top of the indictment. He is wanted by Interpol and was previously indicted for allegedly bribing ice-skating judges at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Another named in the indictment sent mixed martial arts fighters to collect debts.

Nahmad is scheduled to be sentenced on March 19.