After The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade sold for $10 million to the upstart investor Gérard Lhéritier in 2014, it slowly took its place at the center of the biggest alleged fraud case that France has ever seen.
Lhéritier stands accused of swindling, over a period of years, more than $1 billion away from investors who believed they were buying tax-exempt squares of the world’s precious manuscripts and letters. He faces up to ten years in prison for his crimes.
There is only one thing to say to the clients, and I have said this since the beginning: They have to be patient and confident. Their collections still exist. They haven’t lost anything,” Lhéritier told Esquire.
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