Miami art dealer sentenced to nearly 4 years for selling fake Warhols

Leslie Howard Roberts, owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in federal prison for a scheme involving fake Andy Warhol artworks. Roberts pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in Miami federal court.

Roberts was ordered to pay nearly $2.6 million, the amount he earned from selling counterfeit pieces falsely represented as original Warhols. Prosecutors said he claimed to acquire the artworks directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation and provided fraudulent invoices, according to the New York Post.

The scheme involved another individual, Carlos Rodriguez Melendez, who posed as an employee of a New York auction company and falsely authenticated the forged artworks. Melendez pleaded guilty last year and received probation, as reported by the Associated Press.

This case follows a similar 2023 conviction of another South Florida art dealer who was sentenced for selling fake Warhols in Palm Beach County.