William J. Toye

Who is William J. Toye?

William James Toye is an art forger in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He paints in styles copied from Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley; Toye has also copied the style of Claude Monet. Toye, his wife, and Robert E. Lucky, a New Orleans art dealer, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in 2010. On June 6, 2011, Toye pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell counterfeit Clementine Hunter paintings, to misrepresenting the authenticity and origin of the paintings, and to painting the counterfeited Hunter artwork. William and Beryl Toye plead guilty to mail fraud charges in 2011 and were sentenced to two-years probation and ordered to pay $426,393 in restitution to the victims of the fraud. Robert Lucky was also convicted of mail fraud in January 2012 and was sentenced to 25 months in prison.