SEC investigation

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*SEC Exonerates Artist Sky Jones and 125 Corporations

In 1997 and again in 2001, the Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed and deposed Sky Jones for the purpose of, among other things, finding out the truth about Sky Jones Art and it's value. The conclusions are startling.
In values and numbers of one-of-a-kind original paintings Sky Jones is acknowledged as the most collected artist of all time by U.S. publicly held corporations. Of 127+ corporations booking Sky Jones art, only two have ever been fined for overstating values. The remaining 125 followed the easy to understand SEC rules. CEC Industries and ITEX were both cited and fined for deceiving the public. Both organizations purchased the art at fire sale prices from art dealers. Both were paid in stock and other valuables by these corporations.

Clear Title or Stolen?

Upon receipt of the art, CEC and ITEX immediately put it on their books at deceptively high retail prices. (1.5 million dollars for one painting?)The other 125 corporations knew better. Upon investigation it was revealed that Sky Jones was never paid for this art and to this day, all of it is listed as stolen. None of the 127 corporations had clear title to the art. They booked it but never bothered getting the title cleared to prove ownership. One bill of sale does not prove ownership.

All of the corporations traded stock for the art. How much is stolen property worth? How routine is this in the corporate world?

The Thefts

An art broker procured the art from The Bankers Art Museum, also known as the artist’s studio, in Salt Lake City, Utah, on consignment from 1991-95, and never returned nor paid for it. She was paid by the corporations in stock and other assets which were transferred offshore to avoid taxation and legal attempts to retrieve it.

Never Paid

Neither Sky Jones nor the real Banker’s Art Museum have ever received stock nor payment for this art in any form. Police reports were filed and the FBI was notified of this crime but claimed it was a civil matter. They could do nothing about offshore corporations and to this date have not taken action except to have an art trader return the art that he had not sold or traded. The thief is currently hiding the art and assets she took from the artist. How could the SEC ignore the fact that the artist was never paid for the art?

The Art Show

On March 3,1995, Fort Worth’s Milan Gallery hosted a nationally promoted $10 million dollar art exhibition of Sky Jones’ paintings offered by a local collector. In the September 1995 issue of Decor magazine, the largest art magazine in the world, in an interview with Tal Milan, it was announced that $9 million dollars in paintings were sold in that show. This was a record for Fort Worth and probably Dallas. Sky Jones has never received anything from this show nor from the paintings the “local collector” had in his possession.

 

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