An art dealer from South Florida has received a nearly four-year prison sentence for selling counterfeit Andy Warhol pieces.
Leslie Howard Roberts, aged 63, was sentenced to three years and ten months in a Miami federal court after admitting to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In addition to his prison term, he has been ordered to repay almost $2.6 million that he made through the fraudulent scheme.
Roberts, who owns the Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was arrested in April 2025. Court documents reveal that he misrepresented art as original works by the famous artist Andy Warhol.
Prosecutors indicated that Roberts falsely asserted that he obtained the artworks from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and even provided fraudulent invoices.
“He exploited the trust that collectors place in art dealers and the authenticity of the works they purchase,” stated Jason Reding Quiñones, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
As part of the conspiracy, Carlos Rodriguez Melendez impersonated an employee of a New York auction house and falsely verified the authenticity of the forged artwork, according to investigators. Melendez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud last year and received a probation sentence.
Another art dealer from South Florida was sentenced in 2023 to two years and three months in federal prison for a similar offense involving fake Warhols.
Daniel Elie Bouaziz, who had two galleries in Palm Beach County, pleaded guilty to a single count of money laundering, while prosecutors dropped 16 other charges related to fraud and embezzlement.
Warhol, a prominent American visual artist and filmmaker, is most recognized for his role in the pop art movement of the 1960s.
