Lawsuit Alleges Multimillion-Dollar Andy Warhol Fraud Scheme

A Florida family, Richard Perlman and his wife and son, have filed a civil racketeering lawsuit alleging they were duped into spending over $6.7 million on forged Andy Warhol artworks between 2023 and 2024. According to the suit, the Perlmans purchased the counterfeit pieces from Leslie Roberts, owner of Miami Fine Art Gallery, after Christie's expressed concerns over the authenticity of the works.

The complaint alleges that the fraudulent artworks were painted in Peru, smuggled into the U.S., and falsely authenticated as genuine pieces by a network of art dealers, including Nathan Isen, Oscar Cordova, and Edward Kurstak. The Perlmans believe the works were falsely labeled as originating from or authenticated by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, which faced accusations of price inflation in a 2007 antitrust suit and closed four years later.

The lawsuit also accuses retired Florida dentist Allan Dampf of pushing false provenance for the artworks. The Perlmans' ordeal began when they bought the purported Warhol works from Leslie Roberts, who later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. The suit states that Isen, Cordova, and Kurstak were involved in selling the counterfeit artworks to the Perlmans and others in the scheme.