No one knows his real name, but he goes around leaving art all over the place.
They call him Banksy over in England. He accomplishes his goal of activism by doing street art and directing films.
Naturally, someone had to come along and do some forgeries to sell to those unaware. Some of the fakes have raked in a couple of thousand dollars.
Spanish police have found and broken up a forgery ring in an apartment in the city of Zaragoza. Banksy-fakes made there were being sold at auction or online, and even in some shops.
The police have discovered nine art pieces at the apartment, and proof of some 25 sales to people in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and Scotland. They have placed four people under investigation, charged with fraud and theft of intellectual property.
The police say the people involved are "young followers of Banksy's street art with economic problems." Fans of the man's work rip him off and in turn rip other citizens off.
The motto used to be "art before commerce," but now it's the art of stealing that is plumping up wallets.
The fakers were presenting their "work" as part of Banksy's "Dismaland" project, a sort of theme park in the British town of Weston-super-Mare.
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