A Miami art dealer was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for selling forged Andy Warhol artwork, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Leslie Roberts, 62, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal prosecutors said. Roberts ran Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, where he sold counterfeit pieces he presented as original Warhol works.
Prosecutors said Roberts told buyers he got the artwork directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. He supplied invoices that appeared to come from the foundation, along with authentication documents that carried the name of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board. Investigators said he also used fraudulent identification numbers and counterfeit stamps to make the pieces look genuine.
According to the DOJ, Roberts recruited Carlos Rodriguez Melendez to pose as an employee of a New York-based auction company and falsely authenticate the works. Rodriguez Melendez also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said Roberts used his gallery as a vehicle for fraud and exploited the trust collectors place in art dealers. The FBI Art Crime Team and FBI West Palm Beach investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
