Man who tried to sell US$6.4M gold toilet stolen from English country house is spared jail

A gavel sits on a desk in Ottawa, Wednesday Feb. 13, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

LONDON -- A man who tried to help a burglar cash in from the theft of a golden toilet valued at 4.74 million pounds (US$6.4 million) was spared jail on Monday after a British judge said he had been taken advantage of by the thieves.

Frederick Doe, 37, also known as Frederick Sines, was given a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court for his role in helping to sell the 18-carat gold fully functioning toilet which was taken in 2019 from Blenheim Palace -- the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born.

“Those responsible for this audacious heist, five individuals could be seen on CCTV, were clearly intent on disposing of their ill-gotten gains quickly,” Judge Ian Pringle told Doe. “You foolishly agreed to assist.”

The toilet was part of a satirical art installation, titled “America,” by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for $6.2 million at auction in New York.

The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98 kilograms). The value of the gold at the time was 2.8 million pounds and it was insured for 4.74 million pounds.

The piece that poked fun at excessive wealth had previously been on display at The Guggenheim Museum, in New York, which had offered the work to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in office after he had asked to borrow a Van Gogh painting.

The theft of the toilet -- which has never been recovered and is believed to have been cut up and sold -- caused considerable damage to the 18th-century property, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture that draws thousands of visitors each year.

Of the group who smashed a window to get into the palace before dawn on Sept. 14, 2019, only two have been charged and convicted.

James Sheen, 40, previously pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property. Michael Jones, 39, was convicted of burglary at the trial where Doe was convicted. Sheen and Jones will be sentenced June 13.

Doe punched his fist in the air as he emerged from court, saying he was a good person who “got caught up in something I should not have.”

The judge said Sheen approached Doe because he had contacts in London’s jewelry district.

In a WhatsApp message, Doe told Sheen he could “sell the gold in a second.” Doe said he had no idea the gold was looted and wouldn’t have sold stolen gold “in a million years.”

Doe, who was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property, was given a two-year suspended term and ordered to perform 240 hours of unpaid work.

“You agreed to assist Mr. Sheen without any hope or expectation of a reward for yourself,” the judge said. “You no doubt, for the last five-and-a-half years, regret doing (that) for James Sheen every day since your arrest.”

By Brian Melley