Florida art dealer gets nearly 4 years in prison for scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol artworks

MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida art dealer has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for a scheme that involved selling fake Andy Warhol artworks.Leslie Howard Roberts, 63, was sentenced in Miami federal court this month to three years and 10 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He must also pay back nearly $2.6 million that he earned from the scheme.Roberts, the owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was arrested in April 2025. According to court records, he fraudulently represented art as original pieces created by renowned artist Andy Warhol. Prosecutors said Roberts falsely claimed that he acquired the artwork directly from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and provided fake and fraudulent invoices.“He exploited the trust that collectors place in art dealers and the authenticity of the works they purchase,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones said in a statement.As part of the cons