Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Helen Thomas, the mother of Mark Thomas, denied participating in or being aware of the activities of her son, according to Thomas’ daughter, Lisa Thomas Fox, the trustee of her mother’s estate. 

A local jury has awarded Memphis artist Nancy Cheairs $2.1 million in damages after finding that a Memphis man conspired over several years to sell forgeries of her work.

Former Memphis real estate agent Mark Thomas was found guilty on Feb. 28 of forging 14 canvases by having them commercially scanned, forging the artist’s signature on some and offering them for sale.

The case was heard by United States District Judge Sheryl Lipman.

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“The verdict is a victory not just for Nancy Cheairs, but for the entire artistic community, because it protects the artist’s rights in everything she creates,” said Irma Merrill, Cheairs’ lawyer.

Thomas has 30 days to appeal.

The court allowed the highest penalty based on the level of fraud.

According to a lawsuit filed July 10, 2020, Cheairs became aware that Thomas was selling signed copies of her work at his mother’s home on Peppertree Lane. Thomas, according to the suit, told customers he was selling his private collection at low prices because he had been diagnosed with a serious disease for which there was no treatment.

One customer bought four canvases for $5,000. Cheairs later verified them as fakes.

Thomas, with the help of an unknown John Doe, found 14 pieces of Cheairs’ work and had them digitally scanned, inked and mounted on canvas at Memphis Professional Imaging, telling the business he either owned the copyright or had been granted a license by the artist to copy the work.

He ordered copies in various sizes and hand-painted the edges so that an unsuspecting buyer would not see the machine-cut edge.

Cheairs, through her attorney, told Thomas to stop in July 2020 or she would take legal action.

He did not respond.

Helen Thomas, Thomas’ mother, allowed him to use her home on Peppertree Lane to store the work and meet potential clients. The home is in the gated community The Evergreens, on Perkins across from White Station High School.

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Federal marshals arrested Thomas there on Jan. 31, 2022, for ignoring court orders to disclose details about the scheme. They found him hiding behind a freezer in the garage.

Thomas had worked for several real estate firms in the Memphis area, including Coleman-Etter, Fontaine and later Keller Williams Realty.

In an unrelated case in 2014, the federal court here found Thomas had used an image owned by Realtor Fontaine Taylor for his realty signs. The judgment in that case was $336,000. The court also issued an injunction enjoining him from using a logo owned by someone else. 

Thomas appealed the case to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 2015. It affirmed the trial court’s decision.

The previous judgment was entered as an exhibit in the Cheairs’ case. 

Helen Thomas, according to the suit, made numerous payments that allowed her son to conduct the fraudulent business, including creating and framing the art. She received a portion of the sales.

She died Jan. 10, 2022, according to a court filing.

Months before she died, she created a trust for her son that would shield him from creditors, including damages described in the lawsuit. According to the suit, she also knew the court had issued a contempt order that included monetary damages.

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The trust was not revealed to the court, despite multiple orders from the court. When the plaintiff’s lawyers found it, the court set it aside, removing the protection Helen Thomas had tried to institute to protect her son. 

“My mother denied any knowledge of, participation in or acquiescence to any scheme to create forged artworks,” said Lisa Thomas Fox, trustee of her mother’s estate. “My mother passed away before the trial, and her estate settled with Ms. Cheairs without any finding or acknowledgement of fault or liability.”

Cheairs is a well-known Memphis painter and artist whose work is part of the public landscape, including installations at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library and the University Club. She created the Memphis in May poster honoring Costa Rica in 2006 and has had numerous solo exhibitions here.

“I was very glad to see justice served and her to be awarded a claim that she deserved,” said Barbara Nixon, who attended the two-day trial.

“I think so many times the value of what people in the arts do doesn’t carry the amount of value it really has.”

Copyright law allows the wronged person to recover actual damages and profits the infringer made or up to $30,000 per copy in statutory damages.

In the case of willful infringement, the court can increase damages to $150,000 payment for each copy.