On Friday, February 21, 2014, nine art collectors filed a lawsuit against the Keith Haring Foundation after it publicly stated that roughly 80 works owned by the collectors were fakes. The collectors said that the defendant's statement harmed the value of their paintings, costing them at least $40 million. According to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan district court, the foundation refused to fully evaluate the works before writing them off as fakes.

In March 2013, the foundation filed a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit that alleged that the works in the exhibition “Haring Miami” were fakes. The show’s promoters agreed to remove the works from the exhibit, leaving the collectors unable to sell them. The collectors said that the foundation is hoping to keep the number of authenticated Haring works low in order to increase the value of previously certified works in their possession.

Haring, an American artist and social activist, often raised political questions about HIV/AIDS and gay identity through his work. Through his activism, Haring helped the mainstream understand the AIDS crisis as a human rights issue rather than an affliction faced by a specific community.