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Real photographic art by Helmut Newton (in an exhibition in Munich 2022): Is the defendant himself a deceived?
Photo: Jens Kalaene / dpa
Timo F. could make it easy for himself. The 51-year-old, who once made headlines as a "millionaire fraudster" and prison escapee, is likely to remain silent this Thursday as a witness in the trial of a spectacular art fraud before the Berlin Regional Court. The man has many years in prison behind him. In 1997, he was convicted of trying to extort 53.5 million marks from airport operators. In 2009, he was convicted of defrauding widows and banks with accomplices. In 2018, Timo F. was released from prison. And the question is whether he has actually been striving to live a life free of punishment since then, as he claims.
The Berlin public prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation against Timo F. He is suspected of having tried to sell fake photo art with other men since 2019 at the latest. And because this day is about very similar allegations and no one has to help the law enforcement authorities in investigations against themselves, Timo F. is likely to remain silent in court. He wouldn't have to answer a single question. But Timo F. doesn't want to be silent, he talks. For a good twohours.
Timo F. wears glasses, black T-shirt, gray sweatpants, red sneakers. A newspaper once wrote about him that he was "highly intelligent". An assessment that Timo F. does not want to contradict when asked. He's an eloquent guy. He seems to be comfortable in court. He doesn't seem impressed or intimidated. He politely corrects the presiding judge when he has misunderstood something. And he apologizes to a defense lawyer after he interrupted him in the heat of his urge to communicate. Timo F. is good at talking.
For the defense, the defendant is not a fraudster, but himself a deceiver
Stephan Welk, the main defendant in the trial, hardly dares to look at the witness. He keeps his eyes fixed on his laptop. Every now and then he nods at the witness's remarks. The public prosecutor's office sees Stephan Welk as the mastermind of an art fraud. Welk once became known for having provided Boris Becker with a diplomatic card from the Central African Republic. There is little doubt that Stephan Welk sold fake photographic art by Helmut Newton, Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Richard Prince and other artists for 2020.1 million euros in 5. Nor because he tried to sell more supposed works of art for even more money.
The photos were said to come from the collection of a Nila Brenninkmeijer, who had fallen into financial difficulties due to a divorce. Her company, the C&A department store chain, has made the Brenninkmeijers one of the richest families in Europe. But there is no such thing as a Nila Brenninkmeijer. The legend is just as false as the art of photography. At the trial, Welk asserts that he did not know that there was no Nila Brenninkmeijer and that the photographs were worthless. For the defense, Welk is not a cheater, but a deceiver himself. His lawyers see the fact that some identical works had already been offered on the art market years earlier as proof that Welk is a victim, not a perpetrator.
Timo F. has no problem admitting that he helped an acquaintance to set up a small art trade from around 2015 – i.e. during his time in prison. He had met his acquaintance, Jürgen B., in prison. Jürgen B. had traded in works of art that were worth a few thousand euros. In 2019, the unofficial head of the company, Thomas H., was then offered the collection of the alleged Nila Brenninkmeijer.
There have been differences as to whether her small company is suitable for entering such a million-dollar business, says Timo F. The "millionaire fraudster" claims to have had scruples. According to his own account, he himself was only a small light in the company anyway. During his imprisonment, he dictated e-mails for the company and after his release from prison he carried out paperwork and delivery work and did not even charge a fee for this. In 2020, the company was abandoned.
Time together in the editorial office of the prison newspaper
Timo F. talks and talks. The fact that they all addressed each other by false names in their small art trade is something he portrays as perfectly normal. He himself had acted under the name Tim, Thomas H., the boss, had the middle name "Tom Schöller" and Jürgen B., who acted as managing director, had only been called "Julian" by everyone.
More on the subject
Art fraud trial: "I'm the only idiot who paid"By Wiebke Ramm, Berlin
Celebrity Fraudster on Trial:Art that is not an art by a woman who does not existBy Wiebke Ramm, Berlin
Indictment for art forgery: Mediator of Boris Becker's diplomatic passport arrested againBy Maik Baumgärtner and Sven Röbel
In his description, he suggests that it was not Welk, but Thomas H. who was the mastermind behind the art fraud. Timo F. does not accuse the man directly, but leaves it up to the listeners to draw this conclusion themselves. And his account fits in with what Stephan Welk had already said in court: Welk also says that it was Thomas H., alias "Tom Schöller", who called him one day and asked him to find buyers for the Brenninkmeijer Collection.
However, one name did not appear in Welk's statement: Timo F. The two met in 2011 at the Berlin-Tegel correctional facility. They worked together in the editorial office of the prison newspaper. According to Timo F., they are still friends today.
He said quite openly, according to Timo F. that day, that he did not want to harm Stephan Welk with his statement. In fact, he is more likely to incriminate »Tom Schöller«. He was a man of little seriousness with proximity to the rocker milieu.
Why did Timo F. believe that such a person could have contact with the C&A family and other super-rich families, a defense lawyer asks. Timo F. answers at length. After his release from prison, »Tom Schöller« helped him to turn Bitcoins into money. It was a six-figure sum. "Tom Schöller" had given him cash of this amount within a few days. That impressed him. From then on, he was convinced, says Timo F., that "Tom Schöller" stories about his contacts with high society corresponded to the truth.
»Tom Schöller« himself can no longer tell his version of the story. He died in 2021.