Three Charged With Mislabeling Jewelry as Native American–Made

[PinkDiamond]

Three Charged With Mislabeling Jewelry as Native American–Made
If convicted, the jewelers could be looking at five years and a hefty fine
Rob Bates | October 30, 2015

"Three New Mexico jewelers and manufacturers face federal charges for allegedly trying to pass off jewelry produced overseas as Native American–made, a violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

The IACA, passed in 1990, prohibits the sale of goods that falsely suggest that they are Indian-produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian and Indian tribe. It covers all Native American traditional and contemporary arts and crafts produced after 1935.

The four-count indictment, unsealed Oct. 28, charges Nael Ali, Mohammad Abed Manasra, and Christina Bowen with conspiracy to violate IACA and three substantive violations of the act. Ali owns two jewelry stores, Gallery 8 and Galleria Azul, in Albuquerque, N.M., that purportedly sell Native American jewelry. Bowen was formerly employed as a store manager by Ali. Manasra is the owner of a company that says it wholesales Native American jewelry.

According to an FBI statement, jewelry sold by the trio was billed as Native American–made but manufactured in the Philippines.

If convicted ..."
http://www.jckonline.com/2015/10/30/thr ... -306540353

[SwordfishMining]

Bad on them. Convict them and keep after the rest of the evil capitalist thieves. Lazy predators in all walks of life need severely muzzled if not beaten to within an inch of their lives each time they are caught. The tenth time go two inches further for the good of mankind. LOL

[KKHK]

Making that kind of jewelery and carvings in general is common practice in the Philippines. Around the US military bases in the 80's and 90's you had nothing but bars and that kind of craft shops. A tremendous amount of those things have entered your country over time, and I'm sure have often been passed on/down as "Native American". As the bases closed in the 90's, the military and tourist dollar disappeared, but the business dollar took over and kept about 40% of the industry alive, moving from hand-delivery to industrial (I have seen the progress of that first-hand at the former Clark Airbase as I was getting carvings from there for the German market (Christmas decorations)). In the Philippines, I have never seen anyone trying to pass them on as authentic Native American. That misnomer is given after it has entered your country (and no doubt other countries in the world), and sold by scrupulous business.

[SwordfishMining]

They do have a good manufacturing capacity and skilled workers over there. One of my friends had excess rough from a estate collection and made a deal with a tile cutting factory to make fetish carvings out of Franklin NJ ore. If rough does not sell make something that will is his motto. Even if it is smaller rocks out of bigger ones to get the price down. I still have a couple of the UV bears. The problem has always been unscrupulous sellers usually at least one step past the factory who is just making what was ordered. Not that there are not cut throat factories operating who knowingly make fakes for a living. I'm thinking as the pressure mounts there will be a lot more "fair trade" declarations or investigations from sources about the methods and labor used like the Blood Diamonds and traceable source movements are going. Provenance is worth its weight in sales.

[jakesrocks]

Gemstones aren't the only victims of these scum. There are synthetic minerals being passed off as the real thing, and don't even get me started on the fake fossils coming out of Morocco and China.

[PinkDiamond]

Let's face it, fraud and deception are rampant no matter where you look.
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