Overview

• The Great Art Fraud, a two‑part BBC Two documentary now on iPlayer, examines Philbrick’s rise, schemes and downfall through new interviews with him and former associates.
• Philbrick served less than half of his seven‑year U.S. sentence and was released in 2024 to home detention with electronic monitoring, according to reporting.
• U.S. prosecutors say he defrauded clients of more than $86 million from 2016 to 2019 by overselling ownership stakes, reusing artworks as collateral, forging documents and inflating prices.
• After fleeing to Vanuatu, he was arrested by U.S. agents in June 2020, later pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and in May 2022 was sentenced by a New York federal judge and ordered to repay about $86 million.
• He has married Made in Chelsea alum Victoria Baker‑Harber and has two daughters, and in recent interviews he characterizes his crimes as driven by ambition and greed while claiming he does not have the missing funds.