Owner of Coconut Grove art gallery raided by FBI charged in fake Warhol scheme: Feds


The owner of a Coconut Grove art gallery raided by the FBI is facing charges related to the sale of fake Andy Warhol artwork, according to new court documents.

Miami Fine Art Gallery on Commodore Plaza was targeted by the FBI on Wednesday, as agents were seen working under tents outside the business and packing up various pieces of artwork.

An indictment obtained by NBC6 on Thursday shows gallery owner Leslie Howard Roberts is among three people facing charges including money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the indictment filed this month, Roberts sold art from the gallery that he fraudulently represented were original pieces created by Andy Warhol, falsely claiming he acquired the artwork directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

To make them appear to be authentic Warhol pieces, Roberts used forged authentication documents purportedly provided by the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board and used fraudulent identification numbers and fake stamps to create the appearance of authenticity, the indictment said.

He even provided to one victim fake invoices that claimed to be from the Warhol Foundation, the indictment said.

Roberts, 62, received over 100 wire payments from victims involving hundreds of thousands of dollars between April of 2023 and May of 2024, the indictment said.

The indictment names a second defendant, 37-year-old Carlos Miguel Rodriguez Melendez, along with a third defendant whose name is redacted, who Roberts allegedly conspired with and who he claimed were employees of a New York-based auction company to fraudulently authenticate the artwork.

NBC6 reached out to the gallery on Wednesday and was waiting to hear back.

The US. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida said Roberts and Rodriguez Melendez were arrested Wednesday and appeared in federal court. An arraignment is scheduled for April 21.


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