The Los Angeles art dealer Douglas Chrismas was due to report to prison on 17 February. That may be why multiple Frieze Los Angeles attendees were shocked when they saw Chrismas browsing the stands during the fair’s VIP preview, three days after the expected start of his sentence, a tipster told The Art Newspaper.
In January, the Ace Gallery founder was sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling more than $260,000 from the gallery’s bankruptcy estate. But despite the concerns of federal prosecutors that Chrismas is a flight risk, the Ace Gallery founder was able to attend the fair at the Santa Monica Airport thanks to a judge pushing back his self-surrender date to allow for an appeal.
In a 25 February filing, Chrismas’s legal team at the time said that his self-surrender date and appeal bond motion hearing had been scheduled for the same day, and that Chrismas hoped to “avoid making drastic arrangements for his surrender, such as vacating his apartment”, if he would be able to stay out of prison on bond pending appeal.
Prosecutors argued against the motion, saying Chrismas’s “risk of flight has increased exponentially” due to, of all things, US President Donald Trump’s crackdowns on immigration. Embezzlement is an aggravated felony, a crime classification that can result in harsh repercussions for non-US citizens, including deportation. Chrismas, who is a Canadian citizen from Vancouver, has been a legal permanent US resident since 1967 but does not have US citizenship. Prosecutors claimed that Chrismas’s guilty verdict meant he “will be deported and should have been upon his conviction”.
“He has every incentive to abscond abroad,” federal prosecutors wrote. “No bond or conditions of release can reasonably assure [Chrismas’s] appearance while his appeal is pending.”
US District Judge Mark C. Scarsi sided with the state, and denied Chrismas’s application to extend his self-surrender date. Chrismas was scheduled to turn himself in on Monday (3 March) by noon in Los Angeles. But just hours before he was set to begin his sentence, his legal team filed an emergency motion, asking for him to remain released pending his appeal.
“Chrismas is an 80-year-old man who is under the care of various medical providers, requires urgent dental treatment, and would be harmed by discontinuity of care,” his lawyers wrote in the motion. “He has been on release since the filing of the indictment almost four years ago. He continues to live modestly, as he always has, and poses no danger.”
His legal team’s request for a stay pending appeal had been denied at the district court level on Monday, but the appeals court will allow them to make the motion again. In the meantime, Chrismas can stay out of custody until at least Friday (7 March) when the state’s optional response to the motion is due.
While most of Chrismas’s appeals case itself is sealed, publicly available documents reveal the dealer has retained a public defender. His new lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Art Newspaper, nor did his previous legal representatives, who defended him during the latter part of his embezzlement trial.
