Inside the small shop, Coconut Grove window shoppers may procure the next housewarming gift for their art connoisseur best friend or a $2,000 modern sculpture to decorate their new high-rise apartment. This store, opened in October 2024, is the gift shop of Miami Fine Art Gallery, whose owner is Leslie Roberts. The 62-year-old art dealer, who served prison time in 2015 for selling forged Peter Max art, is currently facing federal charges of money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy after allegedly running an Andy Warhol forgery scheme out of his Coconut Grove gallery. After the FBI raided the gallery in April and indicted Roberts, he boarded it up and closed it.
A few days later, after Roberts defaulted on his $19,000 monthly rent payment, his landlord filed an eviction notice in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court (the case has since been voluntarily dismissed).
According to special bond conditions filed in Roberts' case and obtained by New Times, he may have "no involvement in [the] art industry/financial." The court documents indicate that his ex-wife, Silvia Castro Roberts, co-signed the $250,000 bond.
Yet, amid Roberts' legal and financial troubles and despite his strict bond employment restrictions, the Miami Fine Art Gallery Gift Shop remains open.
Retired FBI agent Robert Giczy, who previously investigated Roberts as part of his 2015 criminal conviction, tells New Times that such a restrictive bond condition may speak to the evidence prosecutors have uncovered.
"In my experience, it appears to be a fairly strict restriction and indicates the severity, legitimacy, and magnitude of the evidence that has been produced to the court," he adds.
New Times visited the small store to see what was on the shelves. In no particular order: Vincent van Gogh-inspired umbrellas, a Hello Kitty cookie jar, bedazzled Barbie logo hats, seemingly dead Sesame Street character plushies (R.I.P., Bert and Ernie), and Andy Warhol puzzles.
During our Tuesday afternoon visit, we overheard a woman negotiate a deal on a pair of Donald Duck sculptures (retailing at a cool $2,000 a piece, the lone sales clerk said). The store's walls featured many large artworks from the artist Con$umr.
The clerk said one such piece, a sizable black rendition of a wrinkled $100 bill hanging above the checkout desk, goes for $5,000. Another, a shiny dinosaur with a golden crown above its head, inspired by famous artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, was also available for $2,000. She said much of the store's art comes from "Colombian artists."
A small Romero Britto sculpture, apparently signed by the Brazilian artist, priced at $2,000, sat on a shelf towards the back of the store. In 2010, Britto sued Roberts and later won a federal permanent injunction after the artist learned Roberts and his then-wife, Silvia, sold inauthentic Britto artwork on eBay and through their gallery, Britto in the Grove.
The injunction barred Roberts and his wife from falsely claiming any connection to Britto or his company. It prohibited them from using his name or trademarks to pose as authorized representatives, saying they got original Britto art through a relative in Brazil, selling counterfeit art as genuine Britto works, and displaying any signage with his name at their galleries.
When New Times asked the woman behind the register whether Leslie Roberts owned the store, she said it belonged to Silvia, his ex-wife, who knows only what the news has reported about Roberts' situation. Florida Department of State corporate records reveal that Miami Fine Art Gallery LLC is still active, with Roberts listed as the registered agent and manager.
The shop's Instagram handle, once @miami_fine_art_gift_shop, has changed twice in a few weeks. Mid last week, it became @urban_art_gallery. After New Times made numerous attempts to speak with Roberts' attorney, Jason Wandner, about the gift shop and his client's bond conditions, someone seemingly modified its Instagram handle again, this time to @shirt_boots_hats_.
The gift shop's Instagram has gone through a few changes over the last week as New Times inquired about the merchandise.
Screenshot via Instagram/@urban_art_gallery and @shirt_boots_hats_
As our action-packed visit came to a close, New Times snagged a business card from the desk just before exiting the shop. Underneath the employee's name, struck through with a Sharpie, read "Miami Fine Art."
