NEW MEXICO
Three New Mexicans have been charged with violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act by conspiring to import and fraudulently sell Filipino-made jewelry as Native American-made, officials announced today.
The indictment charging the three defendants is the result of an ongoing federal investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into an international scheme to violate the Arts and Crafts Act that included a law enforcement operation Wednesday during which 16 search warrants were executed in New Mexico and California and related investigative activity took place in the Philippines, officials said.
The Arts and Crafts Act prohibits the offer or display for sale, or the sale of any good in a manner that falsely suggests that it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian and Indian tribe.
The law is designed to prevent products from being marketed as “Indian made,” when the products are not, in fact, made by Indians.
It covers all Indian and Indian-style traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935 and broadly applies to the marketing of arts and crafts by any person in the United States.
Arts and Crafts Act provides critical economic benefits for Native American cultural development by recognizing that forgery and fraudulent Indian arts and crafts diminish the livelihood of Native American artists and craftspeople by lowering both market prices and standard, officials said.
“American Indian and Alaska Native people have contributed tremendously to the cultural and artistic heritage of our nation and they have an important future that must be protected,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “This case demonstrates our willingness to prosecute those who falsely market products as ‘Indian Made’ and thus undermine the livelihoods of Native American artists and craftspeople, many of whom are responsible for carrying precious spiritual and artistic knowledge from one generation to another.”
The four-count indictment that was unsealed earlier today charges Nael Ali, 51, and Mohammad Abed Manasra, 53, both of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Christina Bowen, 41, of Los Lunas, New Mexico, with conspiracy to violate the Arts and Crafts Act and three substantive violations of the Act.
Ali is the owner of two jewelry stores, Gallery 8 and Galleria Azul, in Albuquerque’s Old Town that purport to specialize in the sale of Native American jewelry.
Bowen was formerly employed as a store manager by Ali. Manasra holds himself out as a wholesaler of Native American jewelry.
If convicted of the charges against them, the defendants face up to five years in prison, according to officials.
The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
According to authorities, this are the facts:
- During yesterday’s law enforcement operation and as part of the continuing investigation, federal agents executed 15 search warrants in New Mexico and one in California.
- Eight of the search warrants were executed in Albuquerque including four at retail and wholesale jewelry businesses.
- In addition, search warrants were executed at three jewelry stores in Gallup, three jewelry stores in Santa Fe and a jewelry production shop in Zuni.
- Federal agents also executed a search warrant at a jewelry store in Calistoga, California.
- Three federal seizure warrants also were executed on bank accounts in a Charlotte, North Carolina, bank and a San Francisco, California, bank.
- In addition, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigations conducted a series of investigative interviews at two factories in Cebu City, Philippines.
The case was investigated by the Office of Law Enforcement for the Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Marshals Service, DEA and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement for Region Eight and California Department of Fish and Wildlife provided support in Calistoga, California, and HSI provided support in La Habra, California. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Attaché for Southeast Asia and the Philippine National Bureau of Investigations provided support in Cebu City, Philippines. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristopher N. Houghton is prosecuting the case.