We've Been Had

So. . . funny story.

I got a letter in the mail today about a criminal proceeding. It called me and my husband "victims," and gave us victim ID's and all sorts of information about the perpetrators and how they plead and whatnot. They told me that I should feel free to contact their office if I wanted to discuss how the crime had affected me emotionally or financially.

Thing is, I didn't know that I WAS the victim of a crime.

I did some googling and found out that the gallery that sold my husband and I several paintings, was involved in fraud. Apparently, they bought cheap-o paintings from China and then passed them off as the work of local artists, which allowed them to jack up the price significantly. My understanding is that works of art from China are not considered "investments."

Luckily, my husband and I buy stuff we like. We would, of course, prefer to support local artists. We plan to do so in the future. Truth is, one of the four paintings we purchased is a "fraud." Thankfully, I like the way it looks in my house, no for us, it's fine.

Still. . . weird.