Onetime art adviser to actor Leonardo DiCaprio gets 2.5 years in prison for $6.5 million fraud

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York art adviser who once counted actor Leonardo DiCaprio among her wealthy patrons was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison after admitting to cheating clients out of $6.5 million in connection with the sale of 55 works of art.

Lisa Schiff sobbed as she turned to her former friends and clients seated behind her in Manhattan federal court and apologized to them by name.

“I stand here as a criminal who hurt clients, colleagues, and friends,” the 54-year-old Manhattan resident said, calling herself a “coward” for hiding her deceit and “living lavishly” off money stolen from people who had “loved and trusted” her.

“I am a guilty person and I am prepared to face my punishment,” Schiff said tearfully. “I am scared, but I am ready.”

Schiff is to report to prison July 1.

One of Schiff's victims, Michael Barasch, told the court that his family had embraced her as one of their own, inviting her to family gatherings and holiday parties.

“Your disgraceful conduct goes well beyond stolen money,“ he said. “You broke my wife’s heart. You were her best friend, or so she thought.”

Barasch estimated that Schiff’s victims stand to lose as much as $10 million when considering the costs of lawyers and other experts they’ve hired to try to recoup some of their losses through litigation.

“We’ll be lucky to get five cents on the dollar. No victim will ever be made whole,” he said. “Shame on you.”

Judge J. Paul Oetken, in handing down the sentence, called Schiff’s crimes “quite brazen,” noting her fraud persisted for roughly five years and involved more than a dozen clients.

At the same time, he noted that Schiff comes from a “loving family,” appeared to be smart and thoughtful and was raising a 12-year-old son as a single mother.

“She has a good side to her character,” Oetken said. “How someone so talented can engage in this kind of behavior is a mystery.”

Schiff also was sentenced to two years of supervised release, ordered to pay forfeiture of nearly $6.5 million and restitution of more than $9 million. She declined to comment outside the courtroom.

Schiff pleaded guilty to wire fraud in October, admitting that she defrauded clients of her art advisory business, Schiff Fine Art.

Prosecutors say she sold artwork belonging to clients without telling them or accepted their money to buy art that she didn’t end up purchasing.

They say Schiff used her clients as her “personal piggy bank,” funding a lavish lifestyle that included a $25,000-a-month apartment, a $2 million space for her business and grand trips to Europe, complete with shopping sprees at designer boutiques and stays at luxury hotels.

On one vacation, Schiff rented a Greek villa, yacht and helicopter, according to prosecutors.

Unable to hide her mounting debts, she eventually confessed to some of her clients in May 2023.

DiCaprio had been among Schiff’s former clients as she built a decades-long career in the art world. Prosecutors say among those she swindled were 12 clients, an artist, the estate of another artist and an art gallery.

Wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but, as part of Schiff’s plea deal, prosecutors recommended a sentence of around 3 1/2 to 4 1/4 years behind bars.

In court Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecilia Vogel implored Oetken to remember the victims in the case, many of whom wrote emotional letters to the court ahead of Schiff’s sentencing.

“The fraud was truly extensive,” she said. “The harm here is significant.”

Vogel argued Schiff only came clean about her crimes when it was clear they were going to become public.

“She had reached a point where she couldn’t keep the fraud going any longer,“ Vogel said.

Schiff’s lawyer, Randy Zelin, maintained his client has cooperated “on every imaginable level” in the criminal investigation and efforts to recover some of the stolen funds.

“My client can’t undo what happened,” he said. “She can accept responsibility. She can be devastated about it. But the best she can do is move forward.”

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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.