The news is out that the civil case between Hobby Lobby and Dirk Obbink has been decided. The ruling is a “default judgment” in favor of Hobby Lobby for an incredible $7,085,100 plus interest. (A default judgment means that the defendant never showed up to court.) Keep in mind, this is a civil case not a criminal case. Over at the Art Crime blog, Lynda Albertson gives this list of transactions between Hobby Lobby and Obbink.
- Purchase #1 - February 6, 2010: Papyri fragments for $80,000
- Purchase #2 - February 15, 2011: Papyri fragments and other antiquities for $500,000
- Purchase #3 - July 22, 2010: Papyri fragments and other antiquities for $350,000
- Purchase #4 - November 20, 2010: Papyri fragments and other antiquities for $2,400,000
- Purchase #5 - July 20, 2011: Papyri fragments and other antiquities for $1,345,500
- Purchase #6 - March 7, 2012: Papyri fragments and other antiquities for $609,600
- Purchase #7 - February 5, 2013: Papyri fragments and other antiquities for $1,810,000
As she says, “Obbink had represented to Hobby Lobby that the 32 items he was selling came from private collectors.” I do not know which of these seven purchases was supposed to include the best-known papyrus, the first-century Mark fragment. Maybe one of our readers does?
The most unfathomable thing to me about this whole mess is still how Obbink thought he could get away with it. How does one expect to steal 32 papyri from one’s employer, sell them for millions of dollars to a very in-the-spotlight organization, and expect no one to notice? It boggles the mind.