Editing Peter Max (section)

==Legal==
In 1997, Max was indicted by a [[grand jury]] in [[United States District Court]] for federal income [[tax evasion]] and pled guilty in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]] before [[United States federal judge|Senior United States District Judge]], [[Kimba Wood]] of [[defrauding]] the [[Internal Revenue Service]] by having concealed $1,100,000 in income.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiser |first=Benjamin |date=1997-11-11 |title=Pop Artist Peter Max Pleads Guilty to Charges of Tax Fraud |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/11/nyregion/pop-artist-peter-max-pleads-guilty-to-charges-of-tax-fraud.html |access-date=2022-05-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, “A Federal grand jury in Manhattan also indicted Mr. Max, 58, on charges that he bartered his paintings as part payment for homes in Woodstock, N.Y., and Southampton, L.I., and in St. John in the United States Virgin Islands. The indictment says he failed to declare the "sale" of those paintings on his income tax returns. After learning he was under criminal investigation in November 1990, the indictment charges, Mr. Max and his accountant, Rubin Gorewitz, 71, tried to conceal income from the I.R.S. by faking sales receipts for the art that had been traded for real estate.”<ref>{{Cite news |last=Natta |first=Don van Jr. |date=1996-06-06 |title=U.S. Charges Peter Max With Hiding Art-Sale Income in Tax Fraud |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/06/nyregion/us-charges-peter-max-with-hiding-art-sale-income-in-tax-fraud.html |access-date=2022-05-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In exchange for his plea bargain Max received a felony conviction and was sentenced to a term of two months of incarceration in a prison operated by [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] overseen by the [[United States Department of Justice]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Max Jailed for Tax Violations |url=https://apnews.com/article/dc84ebf5c82005cc43b1fb42c9fc71e5 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref>

In 2019, the estate of Louis Gottlieb filed a [[civil lawsuit]] in [[New York Supreme Court]] against Peter Max, and the estate of Peter Max’s late wife, Mary Max. The suit alleged that Peter and Mary Max had [[embezzled]] $4,600,000 from the $11,000,000 Gottlieb trust while the trust’s grantor, Louis Gottlieb was suffering from dementia. The suit further alleged that Peter and Mary Max had squandered the ill-gotten gains on luxury goods. According to the New York Post, “They used much of the cash to splurge on bling, including a [[Cartier (jeweler)|Cartier]] bracelet, earrings and a ring collectively worth $1.485 million; $1.3 million in jewelry from Bhagat; a [[Verdura (jeweler)|Verdura]] ring costing $58,500; and $47,000 [[Van Cleef & Arpels]] earrings, among dozens of other pricey purchases, according to Lou’s daughter, who is seeking to recoup the cash.” The Gottlieb estate sought to recover a portion of the alleged ill-gotten proceeds from Peter Max following Mary Max's suicide when Peter Max attempted to liquidate the luxury goods at [[Doyle New York]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boniello |first=Kathianne |date=2019-12-28 |title=Artist Peter Max allegedly siphoned over $4M from elderly relative |url=https://nypost.com/2019/12/28/artist-peter-max-allegedly-siphoned-over-4m-from-elderly-relative/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=New York Post}}</ref>