MOSCOW, June 18 (RAPSI, Maria Petrova) - The prison sentence handed down to a Moscow artist and his daughter for counterfeiting the works of Russian avant-garde artists has come into force, a court spokesperson told RAPSI on Tuesday.

On March 27, the Izmailovsky District Court in Moscow sentenced Alexander Chernov and his daughter, Dina, to four and two years in prison, respectively.

According to earlier reports, Dina Chernova appealed the sentence. "However, her appeal was rejected and the sentence came into force," the court spokesperson said.

According to the investigators, Chernov organized a gang that included his daughter and his twin brother, whose case has been closed due to his death. 

The Chernov brothers, both professional artists, counterfeited paintings and drawings, and hired another artist to make more fakes.

They then found buyers for the fakes that they claimed to be the authentic works of Russian avant-garde artists from the early 20th century. 

Chernov's daughter negotiated with the buyers using a different name and claimed that the paintings were authentic and brought from Samarkand.

According to the investigators, the fraudsters sold over 800 pieces of art - some of them attributed to Kazimir Malevich - worth over 20 million rubles ($630,000). 

The victims have filed claims worth the same amount. 

The court found Chernov guilty of fraud on a grand scale, committed by a criminal group. His daughter was convicted on the same charges, as well as for the illegal purchase and storage of drugs.