Coconut Grove art dealer led scheme to sell forged Andy Warhol pieces, feds say
A day after the FBI raided an art gallery in the historic Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, hauling off materials in cardboard boxes, an accomplished fine art dealer was charged with scheming to sell forged Andy Warhol pieces, law enforcement officials say.
On Thursday, federal authorities said Leslie Roberts, a 62-year-old art gallery owner, and Carlos Miguel Rodriguez Melendez, 37, worked to defraud unknowing art patrons, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida.
Roberts' business, Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was swarmed by FBI agents on Wednesday. At the time, authorities did not reveal what or who was at the center of their search.
READ MORE: FBI conducting investigation at Coconut Grove business — possibly an art gallery
The U.S. Attorney's Office revealed Roberts had fraudulently represented some of the art pieces he sold as original works created by Andy Warhol. He would sell the lie of the forged art by telling his victims that he acquired the artwork directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — even going as far as showing them fake invoices that he concocted, a federal indictment read.
Within the plot, Rodriguez Melendez would cosplay as an employee of a New York-based auction company to authenticate the artwork and conceal that they were fakes, authorities said.
Roberts was also alleged to have committed money laundering by transferring wire fraud funds — more than $200,000 — from his art gallery bank accounts to his personal accounts.
Roberts and Rodriguez Melendez were arrested Wednesday and made their first appearance in federal court. The pair was released on bond and readied for an arraignment hearing April 21.
The U.S. attorney's office said, if convicted, they could face up to 20 years in federal prison. Roberts could see an additional up to 10 years if convicted on his money laundering charge.
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