Warhol Protegee Holzer To Testify In Fraud Case

Former chauffeur James Biear was charged with fraud last year (09), amid allegations he conned his former employer, poet and Warhol art collector Kenward Elmslie, out of millions of dollars in artwork and cash in 2005.

At a New York court hearing on Monday (08Nov10), prosecutors claimed Biear was responsible for stealing 11 Warhol works and transferring $3.2 million (£2.1 million) from one of Elmslie's bank accounts into his own.

Biear later sold one of the works, Warhol's famous Heinz 57 wooden ketchup crate, to Holzer for $220,000 (£146,670).

According to the New York Post, the reclusive star, who the Warhol dubbed Baby Jane in the 1960s, is expected to take the stand at an upcoming hearing.

The actress was among the first of Warhol's superstars to attract intense media attention before she shunned the spotlight in the 1990s.