Man Jailed Over Alleged 25 Million Peso Fraud Using Kahlo, Siqueiros Art
A Mexico City judge ordered Ricardo N to stand trial over an alleged 25 million peso fraud involving paintings attributed to Frida Kahlo and Siqueiros.
A man accused of taking two paintings attributed to Frida Kahlo and David Alfaro Siqueiros in a deal worth 25 million pesos, and never paying for them, will stay in jail while his case moves forward. The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, the Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México (FGJCDMX), said a judge ordered Ricardo “N” to stand trial for alleged fraud, El Universal and Expansión Política reported.
Prosecutors say he got the paintings by offering two properties as a payment guarantee, backed by deeds that turned out to be fake. Under Mexican practice, the suspect is identified only by his first name and initial.
How the alleged fraud unfolded
Dec. 9, 2020: In the Cuauhtémoc borough (alcaldía), the owner of the two works handed them over to Ricardo “N” under a sales contract that set the price at 25 million pesos. As a guarantee, he delivered deeds that supposedly proved he owned two properties.
After the deadline passed: The seller received neither the money nor the paintings back. When the seller demanded payment or the return of the works, prosecutors say the buyer answered with insults and threatened reprisals if the case was reported.
The notary’s answer: The seller went to a notary in Celaya, Guanajuato, whose details appeared on the deeds. The notary said he had not issued those documents.
September 2022: The victim filed a criminal complaint with the Fiscalía CDMX.
The investigation: The public prosecutor (Ministerio Público) reviewed the contract, took statements from the victim and two witnesses, and asked the notary for records. The deed numbers matched other notarial acts: one about a meeting of an assembly and one cancelling a loan from FOVISSSTE, the housing fund for federal government workers. The documents did not prove ownership of any property.
Oct. 31, 2026: With an arrest warrant in hand, Mexico City’s Investigative Police (PDI) found and arrested Ricardo “N” in Aguascalientes, working with the Aguascalientes state attorney general’s office.
Nov. 3, 2026: At a hearing, the judge ordered him to stand trial (vinculación a proceso) and kept him in pretrial detention.
What it means for buyers and sellers of art
The case turns on a guarantee that looked solid on paper. The seller accepted property deeds in place of cash, and the fraud only became clear when the seller checked them with the notary named on the documents. In Mexico, a notario público is a licensed legal officer who records property sales, so a notary can confirm whether a deed number is real and what act it belongs to.
Prosecutors have not said whether the two paintings have been recovered, and their authorship is described only as attributed to Kahlo and Siqueiros. The accusation has not been proven in court.
What happens next
The judge gave prosecutors one month to close the complementary investigation, the stage in which both sides gather more evidence before a possible trial. Ricardo “N” will remain in custody during that period.
Sources: El Universal, Expansión Política
