A group of party crashers has been scamming charities by posing as officials of a top Norwegian modern art museum and attending A-list galas without paying.
Two Norwegians and two Americans claimed they were from a prominent Oslo institution the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art and requested four tickets at a total cost of $5,000 to the Love Heals gala in NYC in March.
A woman who called herself a museum official and used the name Elin Askeland said she was the assistant director and told the nonprofit, which works to improve HIV/Aids education, via an e-mail that the money for the tickets would be sent via wire transfer from Oslo, but it never arrived. It is not clear if Elin Askeland is the scammer’s real name or an alias.
When Love Heals organizers contacted the museum to chase the payment, they were told Askeland never worked there. Norwegian police are investigating, and the FBI has been contacted.
Therese Möllenhoff, collection manager and registrar at the privately owned contemporary art museum that owns work by artists including Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Andy Warhol and Cindy Sherman, told Love Heals in an e-mail, “We regret to receive your message as it’s the third case brought to our attention of persons misrepresenting themselves as Astrup Fearnley Museet, using the name Elin Askeland . . . which is not a legitimate representative of Astrup Fearnley Museet. All cases, including the e-mail from you below, have been forwarded to the Norwegian Police department called ÃKOKRIM (the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime) and is part of an ongoing investigation into this/these person(s) and their actions.” She added, “Elin Askeland is not, and has never been, working with or for Astrup Fearnley Museet. In fact, we do not know who this is or whether it’s a real name, but I can confirm this person is not affiliated with Astrup Fearnley Museet in any way.”
Askeland had asked for two advocate tickets (which sell as a pair for $2,500) at the last minute before the gala.
We’re told four people did show up to claim the tickets at the gala at the Four Seasons, where they sat at a top table and rubbed shoulders with Kelly Rutherford, Matthew Settle, Hilary Rhoda, Nigel Barker and Rachel Roy.
Love Heals’ Dini von Mueffling said, “This isn’t a victimless crime. That money could have filled a month of classrooms with our educators.”