Mìami Fine Art Dealer Charged With Selling Andy Warhol Fakes

MIAMI — A 62-year-old Miami resident, Leslie Roberts, and his 37-year-old alleged accomplice, Carlos Miguel Rodriguez Melendez of Sunny Isles, were charged in federal court for their alleged roles in a sophisticated conspiracy to sell forged artwork falsely attributed to iconic artist Andy Warhol.

According to allegations in the indictment, Roberts sold art from Miami Fine Art Gallery located in Coconut Grove. Roberts fraudulently represented the art as original pieces created by renowned artist Andy Warhol.

Investigators say that Roberts falsely claimed to victims that he acquired the artwork directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and provided fake and fraudulent invoices to the victim. Rodriguez Melendez falsely represented that he was an employee of a New York-based auction company in order to fraudulently authenticate the artwork in to conceal that the artwork was fake.

The Indictment also alleges that Roberts engaged in money laundering, transferring wire fraud proceeds from his Miami Fine Art Gallery bank account to a personal bank account. According to the Indictment, Roberts made transactions in the amounts of $150,000, $40,000 and $50,000.

On April 9, 2025, Roberts and Melendez were arrested by law enforcement and made an initial appearance in federal court. Both were subsequently released on bond. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for April 21.

If convicted of the wire fraud conspiracy, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted of money laundering, Roberts faces up to 10 years in federal prison.