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4-year prison term for man who tried to peddle precious paintings from LA art heist
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Original Publication Date: February 13, 2015 4:43AM
Publication Updated: January 8, 2025 8:42PM
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Los Angeles prosecutors say a man who tried to sell millions of dollars in stolen art has been sentenced to more than four years in state prison.
Raul Espinoza pleaded no contest Friday to one count of receiving stolen property.
Espinoza was arrested in October after trying to sell undercover FBI agents artwork worth more than $5 million.
Prosecutors say the paintings, including works by Chagall and Diego Rivera, were stolen from the Encino home of an elderly couple in 2008.
Authorities got a break in the case when a detective got a tip that a man in Europe was trying to sell the art.
The 45-year-old Espinoza was caught at a hotel after trying to sell the nine works for $700,000. Three paintings are still missing.
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