In New York State Supreme Court on Friday, Asher Edelman sued Swiss company Artmentum claiming that their fraudalent scheme to sell 100 masterworks by the likes of Monet and van Gogh damaged his art-financing firm.

A real-life inspiration for Gordon Gekko, the character in the 1987 film "Wall Street," Edelman was a former corporate raider who became a collector and dealer.

Edelman alleges that his art-financing company, ArtAssure, was misled by Artmentum into entering a sale of artworks from Japan's Hiroshima Bank that were not actually for sale. He seeks $204 million in his suit for what he says he stood to make on a deal worth upwards of $400 millon.

Only after his staff did extensive research, says Edelman, did he discover that the artwork was not for sale and that the bank did not own them. Edelman has claimed fraudulent inducement to enter a contract, continuing fraud during the existence of the contract and breach of contract against the Swiss art advisory,

"Each defendant, acting individually and in concert with each other, participated in an elaborate, fraudulent scheme in the guise of an international art transaction designed to deprive ArtAssure of hundreds of millions of dollars," the lawsuit states.