MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — Acclaimed street artist Shepard Fairey, who was accused of stealing a photo used in the iconic "Hope" posters mass produced during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, pleaded guilty Friday to destroying documents that were ordered preserved in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Fairey had been sued by the Associated Press for allegedly using an AP photo to create the ubiquitous poster.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement that Fairey admitted he "went to extreme lengths to obtain an unfair and illegal advantage in his civil litigation, creating fake documents and destroying others in an effort to subvert the civil discovery process."
The street artists and his company had been ordered to “preserve and retain and documents and electronic information that may be relevant... to the claims in this case," when the AP litigation began, Bharara added.
Fairey turned himself in Friday morning on a federal criminal contempt charge and admitted he destroyed documents and created false records to try to cover up some of his alleged conduct, the U.S. attorney said. He faces up to six months in jail at his July 16 sentencing.
The artist is known on a local level for his bold murals throughout the city. One of his largest was prominently displayed on Houston Street and the Bowery.
His attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
