Man pleads guilty to faking Jackson Pollock art works

John Re, 54, of East Hampton admitted scamming art buyers out of $2.5 million (£1.6m) over nine years, some of which he used to buy a submarine.

He faces up to four years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud at Manhattan federal court on Monday.

Prosecutors said he lied about the authenticity of dozens of pieces.

Re, they said, had used the names of US artists Pollock, De Kooning and others to attract buyers for the paintings, sketches and pastels since 2005.

He created a false provenance - a document that shows the history of a piece of art - to trick collectors, according to the New York Times.

The paper also reported that Re had threatened a victim with violence when he was confronted over the authenticity of a piece, claiming he had connections to organised crime.

The court has now blocked the potential sale of his USS Deep Quest submarine until he repays the $2.5m (£1.6m) forfeiture order.

Re will be sentenced next April.