A man accused of attempting to sell millions of dollars worth of paintings stolen from a San Fernando Valley home six years ago pleaded no contest Friday to a count of receiving stolen property.
Raul Espinoza, 45, was immediately sentenced to four years in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
Authorities investigating the multimillion dollar heist from an Encino home in 2008 received a break in the case late last year when they were tipped to a man soliciting buyers for the stolen art, the Los Angeles Times reported. The subject, known as "Darko," indicated that he was "merely a middleman for an unknown person in possession of the art in California," according to a search warrant obtained by the Times.
Espinoza met Oct. 24 with undercover FBI agents and agreed to sell nine paintings valued at more than $5 million, said Deputy District Attorney Marna Miller. The stolen paintings, which belonged to a wealthy real estate investor, included works by Hans Hofmann, Chaim Soutine, Arshile Gorky, Emil Nolde, Lyonel Feininger and Kess van Dongen.
The nine works were recovered. Three pieces of art are still missing.
