A lawsuit has been filed against the former CEO of the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA), Aaron De Groft, over an alleged scheme involving fake paintings by the renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The OMA mounted an exhibition of these purported Basquiat works over a year ago, only for federal investigators to later determine that they were counterfeit. The lawsuit was filed by the museum in state court on Monday, seeking damages for fraud, breach of contract, and conspiracy, ABCNews reports.

According to the lawsuit, De Groft was accused of attempting to profit from the scheme by showing these fake Basquiat paintings. He allegedly claimed that the owners of the paintings had promised him a substantial cut of the proceeds from the anticipated multimillion-dollar sale. The Orlando Museum of Art's reputation suffered as a result of this incident, leading to the museum being placed on probation by the American Alliance of Museums.

The lawsuit claims that the museum spent a significant amount of money to exhibit the now-admittedly fake paintings, leading to additional costs in cleaning up the aftermath of the scheme. It further alleges that De Groft used the museum's reputation and resources to gain personal fame and notoriety through his role in these fraudulent transactions.

De Groft has denied any financial arrangement with the owners of the fake Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings in response to the lawsuit. The disputed pieces were said to have been created in 1982 and were found in a storage locker belonging to the late TV producer Thaddeus Mumford Jr. The locker's contents were sold at auction in 2012.