THE FRAUDSTERS WHO SOLD A FAKE PAINTING FOR$1.7 MILLION WERE PAID WITH COUNTERFEIT BILLS.: Two Spanish fraudsters arranged to sell a fake painting by Goya. The painting was in fact done by a Spanish artist named Antonio Maria Esquivel and not the famed artist. A rich Arabian sheik was working with middlemen who asked the sellers for a commission of $300,000. The fraudsters didn't suspect anything and borrowed the money from someone they knew. The fraudsters got the money but, when they tried depositing in the bank they were arrested because the money was fake.