In an interview with James Panero published on New York magazine’s website this morning, art dealer and former Knoedler president Ann Freedman commented on the $80 million fraud scandal that has rocked the art world in recent years, stating: “I am as shocked as everybody, more shocked, as I am the central victim.”

Years after accusations of fraud first began surfacing and multimillion dollar lawsuits started piling up, the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI have finally confirmed the existence of a forger in Queens N.Y. who created all of the works in question, putting to rest any question of whether the works, said to be by a roster of Abstract Expressionist masters, could possibly be authentic. “Fifteen years. In my head, these paintings have been right up until five days ago. Horrible,” Freedman said in the interview.