I think what the art auction is really selling is a synthetic experience of being a "rich art collector". Middle class folks vacationing get to make believe that this is how the rich folk live- sipping champagne, being flattered and buying priceless works by famous artists.
That the champagne is cheap and terrible, the art is Thomas Kincaid or Peter Max and the flattery only last the length of the sale doesn't destroy the illusion for some buyers.

Is it "fraudulent"? I don't know, do we accuse Disney World of fraud when the Thunder Mountain Railroad returns us to the same station instead of delivering us to the Old West?