 However, after Michaelides died accidentally in 1999, his family took legal action to recover his share of the Symes company's assets, and when the matter went to trial, Symes was found to have lied in his evidence about the extent and value of his property; he was subsequently charged with and convicted of contempt of court, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.Ongoing investigations by Italian authorities revealed in January 2016 that Symes' involvement in the illegal antiquities trade was even more extensive than previously thought, and that he had hidden a vast hoard of looted antiquities in 45 crates at the Geneva Freeport storage warehouse in Switzerland for 15 years, in order to conceal them from Michaelides' family.Called "London’s best-known and most successful dealer in antiquities", Symes is also accused of playing a pivotal role in the illegal trade of looted antiquities, which is detailed in Peter Watson and Cecilia Todeschini's 2006 book "The Medici Conspiracy