Minnesota Man Sentenced for $275K False Insurance Claim

A St. Paul, Minn., man has been sentenced for filing a false insurance claim for artwork he had reported as stolen.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jason Sheedy was sentenced in federal court to three years’ probation on one count of wire fraud.

Sheedy also must pay $352,000 in restitution and serve 500 hours of community service.

In his plea agreement, Scheedy admitted coming up with a scheme to defraud AXA Art Insurance Corp. The insurance company insures artwork and other items of historic value.

Prosecutors say Sheedy filed a nearly $275,000 insurance claim over art and other valuables he reported as stolen in 2007. He collected $254,000 from AXA.

But the insurer later documented that some of the works Sheedy listed for sale on Artbrokerage.com were the same ones it had insured.