Southern District of Florida · Friday, October 16, 2026
Miami dealer sentenced to 46 months over forged Warhols
The File desk · Oct 16, 2026, 11:00 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed as the Southern District of Florida’s Oct. 15, 2026 release. The sentence is the office’s account of Judge Roy K. Altman’s order after a guilty plea.
- Confirmed
Leslie Roberts, 62, of Miami, was sentenced to 46 months after pleading guilty to
.Legal instrument
Wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)
Using a phone line, the internet, or another wire to carry out a scheme to cheat someone out of money or property. The statute sets a maximum of 20 years. Justice Department releases cited here do not always name the section.
- Confirmed
The office says Carlos Rodriguez Melendez also pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy. The case number given is 25-cr-20142.
Leslie Roberts, 62, who ran Miami Fine Art Gallery in Coconut Grove, was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in federal prison. Judge Roy K. Altman imposed the term after Roberts pleaded guilty to Legal instrument Using a phone line, the internet, or another wire to carry out a scheme to cheat someone out of money or property. The statute sets a maximum of 20 years. Justice Department releases cited here do not always name the section.Wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)
The release is dated Oct. 15, 2026. Prosecutors say Roberts told buyers he had bought the works from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and gave them invoices that looked like the foundation’s. He also used forged authentication in the name of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, fake foundation identification numbers, and counterfeit stamps, the office says.
Carlos Rodriguez Melendez pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy. The office says Roberts had him pose as an employee of a New York auction company and falsely authenticate the work.
The FBI Art Crime Team and the FBI’s West Palm Beach office investigated. The case number is 25-cr-20142. Related documents are on the Southern District of Florida docket site. This desk did not open the judgment.
What is still unknown or disputed
- The judgment was not opened. The 46-month term is the office’s account of the sentence.
- No restitution or forfeiture dollar figure is in the release. An assistant U.S. attorney is handling asset forfeiture.
- The release does not cite a statute section.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Miami art dealer sentenced to nearly four years for selling forged Andy Warhol artwork
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida · October 15, 2026
U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman sentenced Leslie Roberts, 62, of Miami, to 46 months after a guilty plea to
. Carlos Rodriguez Melendez also pleaded guilty. Case number 25-cr-20142.Legal instrument
Wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343)
Using a phone line, the internet, or another wire to carry out a scheme to cheat someone out of money or property. The statute sets a maximum of 20 years. Justice Department releases cited here do not always name the section.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/miami-art-dealer-sentenced-nearly-four-years-federal-prison-selling-forged-andy-warhol