By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sotheby’s must face a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general accusing the auction house of fraudulently helping a wealthy art collector dodge millions of dollars of sales taxes, a state judge has ruled.

This case involved the purchase by Sotheby’s of over $27 million worth of artworks from artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, sculptor Anish Kapoor and painter Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Letitia Jam, attorney general, said that Sotheby’s had helped her client get bogus “resale” certificates between 2010 and 2015. They portrayed the client as an art dealer which allowed him tax exemptions.

Justice Andrew Borrok, a New York State Court in Manhattan, rejected Sotheby’s argument that the claim was exempted due to the fact that only “a very small” number of employees and mostly one junior employee knew about the alleged wrongdoing.

According to the judge, a key client manager had visited the apartment of the client to view the artwork. It didn’t matter whether Sotheby’s accountants reviewed the certificates.

Sotheby’s claimed that James should be awarded triple damages under the False Claims Act of the state. This was in addition to the sales tax.

Sotheby’s and its lawyers did not immediately respond to Tuesday’s requests for comment.

James stated that at least 12 Sotheby’s employees were aware of the fact that the client was a shipping entrepreneur who lives mostly outside the United States and had been buying artwork for his own use, but using resale certificate.

“No matter how wealthy you are, no one is above the law,” James said in a statement on Tuesday. We look forward to presenting our case before the court.

James sued two years ago, after Porsal Equities had settled New York lawsuits over the use of certificates.