Connecticut Antiques Dealer Pleads Guilty in $2.1 M. Theft Scheme
Connecticut antiques dealer and auction house owner David L. Johnson, 66, of Greenwich pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal money laundering charge tied to an alleged $2.1 million scheme, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. Prosecutors say Johnson, who ran Stamford-based Antique Treasures and Greenwich Auction, used a power of attorney over an elderly individual identified as W.L. to misappropriate assets from November 2018 to April 2023; W.L. died in August 2020, and Johnson was also named executor though not a beneficiary of the trust receiving W.L.’s property. The plea centers on Johnson allegedly cashing a 2019 federal tax refund check for more than $436,000 issued to W.L.’s estate in October 2020, depositing it into his personal account in November, and then buying an $87,580 cashier’s check payable to Fidelity Investments the next month to conceal the funds. Johnson was indicted in December 2025 on additional charges including interstate transport of stolen property and criminal monetary transactions, with allegations including selling W.L.’s securities worth more than $217,000 and selling artworks through a New York auction house with proceeds of more than $308,000 deposited into an Antique Treasures business account; the government plans to seek dismissal of remaining counts after sentencing because the conduct will be considered in determining the sentence.
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This story was covered in Restitution Reckonings and Museums on the Brink