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Con Man’s Forfeited Art for Sale on eBay
Hardin Jail
BILLINGS – Just in time for the holiday shopping season, a portrait of Mother Teresa painted by a California con man who failed in his bid to take over an empty Montana jail is up for sale on the Internet auction site eBay.
Hardin officials signed a contract with 55-year-old Michael Hilton, of Santa Ana, Calif., for his company, American Police Force, to operate the city's never-used jail and fill it with inmates. But the deal collapsed after media revelations about Hilton's criminal background.
After an October hearing in a California court, Hilton turned over the painting to try to satisfy an outstanding civil judgment for fraud totaling nearly $700,000 in a separate case.
Attorney Cris Armenta, who is auctioning the painting on behalf of her client Rick Earnhart, wants at least $250 for the piece. Earnhart, of Menifee, Calif., loaned Hilton tens of thousands of dollars in what turned out to be a bogus real estate development deal.
Hardin officials signed a contract with 55-year-old Michael Hilton, of Santa Ana, Calif., for his company, American Police Force, to operate the city's never-used jail and fill it with inmates. But the deal collapsed after media revelations about Hilton's criminal background.
Attorney Cris Armenta, who is auctioning the painting on behalf of her client Rick Earnhart, wants at least $250 for the piece. Earnhart, of Menifee, Calif., loaned Hilton tens of thousands of dollars in what turned out to be a bogus real estate development deal.
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