Jailed conman and forger, Richard Pearson, has been ordered to pay back just £1.
According to Karon Kelly’s article in the Sunderland Echo, the 56-year-old fraudster had convinced the owners of a gallery in Corbridge, Northumberland, that he had access to a collection of Mr Cornish’s artworks through inheritance and via a friend who wanted to sell his personal collection.
Pearson, of Thomas Street North, Sunderland, passed off a series of 14 drawings and pictures, which left the gallery owners who bought them thousands of pounds out of pocket … £31,650 to be exact.
According to investigators, Pearson has no assets; however, the judge noted that is Pearson comes into any money, the £31,650 could be seized.