William James Toye (born August 15, 1931, died 2018) was an art forger in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Toye, his wife, and Robert E. Lucky, a New Orleans art dealer, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in 2010.
His father, a machinist, was born in Cork, Ireland[4] and moved to the United States in March 1923.
Toye told police that most of the destroyed work satirized local politicians, and that he was to exhibit the Storyville paintings in less than two weeks.
He and his wife claim to have work by Edgar Degas in a closet; a painting Toye asserted was by Reginald Marsh was kept on a pile of debris in the middle of a room in his home.
[9] In September 2009, the FBI raided the Toyes home as part of their investigation of reports of forgery of Hunter's works.
The FBI said the Toyes and Lucky “engaged in a conspiracy and a scheme to defraud several victims [in] Louisiana and in other states ... [and] knowingly sold forgeries as original, authentic works of art by Clementine Hunter.”[6] Toye and his wife were indicted for fraud in February 2010[10] in a conspiracy to sell counterfeit Hunter paintings with New Orleans antique dealer Robert E. Lucky, Jr.[2] Prosecutors said Toye created phony bills of sale,[9] and appraisals to establish the provenance he and his wife claimed, that she had bought the paintings from Hunter in the 1960s and 1970s.
[9] Toye pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to defraud collectors, to fraud in misrepresenting the painting's authenticity and origin, and to art forgery.
Robert Lucky was also convicted of mail fraud in January 2012 and was sentenced to 25 months in prison and a restitution of $326,893.
An additional three-year supervised release period and 200 hours of community service is to follow Lucky's incarceration.