NAPLES, Fla.—A Florida couple has filed suit against James R. Batson, an art dealer and former curator at Jamali Fine Arts in Naples, Fla., alleging that he swindled $700,000 from them in fake art investments. Lionel and Etta Smith, who currently live in Bonita Bay in Bonita Springs, say that, beginning in 2006, they attempted to purchase works by Picasso, Chagall, and others from Batson, though many of the works were never delivered and some of those they did get were obvious fakes.

The lawsuit includes claims that Batson issues a fake Tiger Woods endorsement, forged Sotheby’s appraisals, falsified provenance documents, invented transactions, pretended to have cancer, and failed to deliver works that the couple had purchased. It also states that he violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in his actions.

Is Batson a Chagall charlatan and a Picasso purloiner, or is there another explanation? Naples police are reportedly investigating unusual accounting transactions at Jamali Fine Arts when Batson was employed there, meaning there may be more news to come.

Read more at the Naples Daily News.