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Florida art dealer gets nearly 4 years in prison for scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol artworks
Roberts must also repay nearly $2.6 million after prosecutors said he used fake invoices and false authentication to sell forged Warhol works.
- In Miami federal court this month, South Florida art dealer Leslie Howard Roberts was sentenced to three years and 10 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving fake Andy Warhol artworks.
- Roberts, owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, falsely claimed he acquired art directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and provided fake invoices to conceal the forgery.
- Accomplice Carlos Rodriguez Melendez posed as a New York-based auction company employee to authenticate the forged artwork, while the court ordered Roberts to pay back nearly $2.6 million earned from the scheme.
- Prosecutors said Roberts exploited the trust collectors place in art dealers and undermined the authenticity of purchased works, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
- Recent South Florida art fraud cases include Daniel Elie Bouaziz, who pleaded guilty to money laundering in Palm Beach County, and Carlos Rodriguez Melendez, who received probation last year for his role in a similar conspiracy.
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Associated Press News+18 Reposted by 18 other sources
Florida art dealer gets nearly 4 years in prison for scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol artworks
A South Florida art dealer has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for a scheme that involved selling fake Andy Warhol artworks.
·New York, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources20
Leaning Left9Leaning Right3Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Left
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Left
50% Left
L 50%
C 33%
R 17%
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