Eduardo de Valfierno "Mona Lisa". The forgeries were then shipped to around the world, readying them for the buyers he had lined up. Valfierno knew once the "Mona Lisa" was stolen it would be harder to smuggle copies past customs. After the heist the copies were delivered to their buyers, each thinking they had the original which had been stolen for them. Because Valfierno wanted to sell forgeries, he only needed the original "Mona Lisa" to disappear and never contacted Peruggia again after the crime. Eventually Peruggia was caught trying to sell the painting. It was returned to the Louvre in 1913. Peruggia
Vincenzo Peruggia forger Yves Chaudron to make copies of the painting so he could sell them as the missing original. The copies would have gone up in value if the original were stolen. This theory is based entirely on a 1932 article by former Hearst journalist Karl Decker in "The Saturday Evening Post". Decker claimed to have known "Valfierno" and heard the story from him in 1913, promising not to print it until he learned of Valfierno's death. There is no external confirmation for this tale. Vincenzo Peruggia Vincenzo Peruggia (October 8, 1881 – October 8, 1925) was an Italian thief, most