Miami art dealer sentenced for selling fake Warhol artworks

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 17 Oct, 21:56 · Archive

A Miami art dealer has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for selling forged Andy Warhol paintings.

Leslie Roberts, owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was sentenced in federal court to three years and ten months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He must repay $2.6 million in proceeds from the scheme.

Roberts created fraudulent invoices and authentication documents, as well as counterfeit stamps, to deceive buyers into thinking the artwork was genuine. He falsely claimed he had acquired the pieces directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. As part of the conspiracy, Carlos Rodriguez Melendez posed as an employee of a New York-based auction company and falsely authenticated the forged artwork. Rodriguez Melendez also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to probation.

US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said Roberts "exploited the trust that collectors place in art dealers and the authenticity of the works they purchase". Quiñones stated that prosecuting the case "sends a clear message: fraud is fraud, whether it happens on Wall Street or in an art gallery".

How it is being reported

• Art dealer who sold forged Warhols sentenced to nearly four years in prisonLeslie Roberts, 62, who created fraudulent invoices and authentication documents, also ordered to repay $2.6m A Miami art dealer who admitted to selling forged Andy Warhol artwork has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Leslie Roberts, 62, created fraudulent invoices and authentication documents, as well as counterfeit stamps to deceive buyers, the US justice department said in a statement issued on Thursday. Continue reading...The Guardian · 17 Oct, 21:22
• Florida art dealer gets nearly 4 years in prison for scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol artworksHe must also pay back nearly $2.6 million that he earned from the scheme.New York Post · 17 Oct, 10:10

In this story: Leslie Roberts · Andy Warhol · Carlos Rodriguez Melendez · Miami Fine Art Gallery · Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts · Miami

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