A KLOOF businesswoman is offering a reward for a painting that was ‘purchased’ at her store through a fraudulent transaction. Joanne Raw, owner of Lapis Lazuli, a silver and gemstone jewellery store, is appealing for any information on the current location of the painting, which was sold to two men at their Glenwood branch.
Raw, who said the men were well dressed and spoke fluent English, added, “My employee contacted me to say there were two men who were interested in buying the paintings. I questioned her about their credibility, because I was concerned about them making enquiries about artwork in a jewellery store, and she said they was nothing suspicious about them. So I agreed to the sale. She inserted the credit card into the machine and then asked the man to type in the pin. She thereafter requested an imprint. One of the men went back to the car, and the man in the store told her to assist him to carry the painting to the car, and that he would come back to give her the imprint. After the painting was placed in the car they drove off.
“We were planning to close that store, so we decided to part with the custom-made paintings, which were very dear to me as they were painted specifically for the store by my friend. The painting was originally painted by Otto Pilny in oil in 1909. However, this reproduction was done for me in 2008. I was under the impression that both paintings were being sold, which is also one of the reasons why I agreed to sell it. The painting may have been sold to art collectors, and therefore I am appealing to anyone who may have any information about the painting to contact me.
“The payment was not cleared by the bank because of the fraudulent card that was used. We tried to contact the man who produced the card on the number he supplied us with, but the number continuously goes to voice mail.
“I urge other businesses owners to be aware of such incidents. Always request for a copy of buyers’ ID to assist in the elimination of such crimes.”
The matter has been reported to the police for further investigation.
