London, July 15 : American actor Robert De Niro reportedly became the victim of an art scam when several abstract paintings by his late father were sold without his permission in New York.

De Niro, 65, has a collection of his father's paintings, and the multi-million dollar fraud is said to have also duped former tennis champion John McEnroe and the Bank of America, reports Sky News.

Art dealer Lawrence Salander, 59, has been charged with stealing 5million dollars after he allegedly sold works from several art collections, and failed to pay the proceeds to the owners of the paintings.

Among the works sold by Salander and other dealers at his New York gallery were works by Robert De Niro Senior, an abstract Expressionist painter who died of cancer in 1993 aged 71.

More than 600,000 pounds was lost from De Niro's collection as a result of the scam.

De Niro Junior, an Oscar-winning actor known for his collaboration with director Martin Scorsese, has organised exhibitions of his father's work around the world and says that he keeps many of his paintings at home.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office said McEnroe, the three-time Wimbledon tennis champion, was also a victim of the art scam after he invested 1.2million pounds for a half share of two paintings, but failed to recoup his money. (ANI)