More Than 200 Fake Warhol Works Sold for $6.7 Million, Family Says

200 ‘Warhols’ found themselves at the centre of a major forgery case

A family of property investors from Florida claim they fell victim to a large-scale art market scam: in less than a year, they were sold over 200 fake Andy Warhol works for approximately $6.7 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, the forgeries were shipped from Peru via Miami, and forged documents, certificates and even simulated authentication by leading art institutions were used to legitimise them.

Photo: WSJ Left: a fake portrait of Queen Elizabeth II; right: the genuine portrait by Warhol.

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Richard Perlman, his son and family-linked investment firms have filed a civil claim in Florida, accusing more than six individuals and companies of participating in an organised scheme to forge and sell Warhol’s works. Among them are art dealers and gallery owners, reports The Wall Street Journal. Among the works purchased, which the family believed to be genuine, were depictions of Queen Elizabeth II, the singer Debbie Harry and Superman.

According to the claim, some of the paintings were produced in Peru and then smuggled into the US. There, the forgeries were given the necessary ‘backstory’: fake valuation stamps were applied to the reverse of the canvases, false transport documents were drawn up, and certificates of authenticity were issued.

According to the family, the scheme involved a Miami-based dealer, Leslie Roberts, and a Philadelphia art dealer, Nathan Eisen, known as Nicky. It is alleged that the works were given additional legitimacy through Roberts’ gallery.

To bolster credibility, they even used a fake email address mimicking the Andy Warhol Foundation’s domain, although the Foundation had ceased authenticating works as far back as 2012. Furthermore, those involved in the scheme allegedly posed as specialists from Phillips auction house.

The scam began to unravel after the Perlmans submitted the collection to Christie’s for valuation in late 2023. Experts discovered signs of forgery. The family then demanded that the sellers confirm the provenance of the works, which led to a legal dispute.

Roberts has already pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud. He is due to be sentenced at the end of September. In July, the FBI raided Eisen’s gallery in Philadelphia. His lawyer denies the charges of fraud and conspiracy.

The Perlmans’ story illustrates just how easily, in the closed art market, an expensive forgery can acquire a convincing ‘backstory’. In this case, the price of that backstory was $6.7 million.

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