Leslie Roberts, 62, of Miami, was charged in a federal court for participating in a conspiracy to sell forged art using fake and fraudulent invoices and authentications.
Carlos Miguel Rodriguez Melendez, 37, of Sunny Isles, was also charged for participating in the wire fraud conspiracy.
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 the renowned artist Andy Warhol.
Further, 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 victims.
Rodriguez Melendez falsely represented that he was an employee of a New York-based auction company to fraudulently authenticate the artwork 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 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 (Case No. 25-cr-20142).
Roberts and Melendez 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.
