A federal judge sentenced former Coconut Grove gallery owner Leslie Howard Roberts to 46 months in prison on Friday for running a scheme that sold forged Andy Warhol artworks to unsuspecting collectors, ordering him remanded into custody on the spot. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman, fell within the advisory federal guideline range of 46 to 57 months and followed three years of supervised release still to come.
Roberts, the former owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery, appeared before Altman on Oct. 2 after failing to show up for an initial sentencing hearing the week before, according to Law360. The judge cited that no-show when ordering Roberts remanded immediately rather than allowing him to self-surrender, and also directed him to hand over his passport to his attorney and recommended the Bureau of Prisons place him in a Florida facility equipped to handle his medical needs.
Roberts pleaded guilty on June 10 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and the remaining charges against him were dismissed at the government's request, as reported by Miami New Times. He was ordered to pay a $2,581,465 forfeiture money judgment, matching what prosecutors said he obtained from the sale of the forged artworks, along with a mandatory $100 assessment.
How the Forgery Scheme Worked
Prosecutors alleged Roberts sold counterfeit pieces presented as authentic Warhol works out of his Coconut Grove gallery, telling buyers the pieces came directly from the New York-based Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, according to NBC News. To back up that claim, he allegedly used forged authentication documents, fabricated identification numbers, and fake stamps inscribed on the backs of the pieces to create the appearance that they were genuine.
An alleged co-conspirator, Carlos Miguel Rodriguez Melendez, falsely posed as an employee of a New York-based auction company to help authenticate the artwork, the outlet's report states. Melendez pleaded guilty to related fraud charges in June 2025 and received one year of probation. As part of his sentence, Roberts is now barred from associating with Melendez during his supervised release and from participating in any related business.
The scale of the alleged fraud extended well beyond a single sale. Roberts received more than 100 wire payments from victims totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars between April 2023 and May 2024, per NBC6 South Florida. The wire fraud charges specifically stemmed from six payments totaling $599,850 from one victim between April 2023 and May 2024, plus a $60,000 transfer from a second victim, the station notes. FBI agents later raided the gallery and set up a tent outside to catalog the seized art.
Civil Suits and a Deferred Restitution Fight
Collectors Judy and Richard Perlman filed a lawsuit claiming roughly $6.7 million in losses from transactions involving Roberts, alleging they were scammed on discounted Warhol paintings that turned out to be forgeries, according to Miami New Times. The couple reached a settlement with Roberts in January 2026 and separately filed another lawsuit against alleged suppliers of the counterfeit paintings.
Altman deferred a final restitution determination until Jan. 20, 2027. As part of his supervised release terms, Roberts must give federal probation officials access to his personal and business financial records, obtain permission before taking on new debt, and secure court approval before becoming self-employed again.
A Second Brush With Art Fraud
This was not Roberts's first conviction tied to counterfeit art. He had previously been jailed a decade earlier for selling fake Peter Max works, NBC News reports.
The sentencing closes a long-running federal case that began with an indictment detailed by the New York Times. The saga was first reported by former Miami New Times writer Naomi Feinstein. NBC6 reported that Roberts sold fraudulent Warhols to collectors along with fake invoices and forged authentication paperwork. With Roberts now in federal custody, the restitution question and the fate of any further cooperation credit remain open until the January hearing.
