Winchester Galleries Dealer Charged With Fraud

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Calvin Lucyshyn, a dealer who operated Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, British Columbia, has been charged with fraud, according to a story in the Victoria Times-Colonist.

The charge comes roughly two years after police seized around 1,100 pieces of art worth millions of dollars.

“Police alleged at the time the dealer was taking art from people to consign or appraise, then cutting contact and selling the pieces without reimbursing owners or artists,”according to the Victoria Times-Colonist story.

Lucyshyn purchased Winchester Galleries in 2019 from Gunter Heinrich and Anthony Sam. 

Three years later, in April 2022, Lucyshyn closed Winchester Galleries and stopped communicating with people who owned artwork that had been on consignment in the gallery. 

One of the art owners contacted police, saying they had entrusted the dealer with four artworks — art that included works by Emily Carr and David Blackwood — for consignment.

The art owner “became suspicious when the gallery closed and attempts to contact the dealer were unsuccessful, police said at the time,” according to The Victoria Times-Colonist.

Police then found other art owners who had consigned art but could not reach the gallery owner. They searched storage sites in Saanich, Oak Bay and Langford, B.C. and found 1,100 artworks.

More than 1,000 of the artworks have now been returned to their owners, but several remain unclaimed. If you think you may have art that has been unclaimed, you are invited to email art@saanichpolice.ca.

Lucyshyn has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 10.

Source: Victoria Times-Colonist

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