Talk about stretching the truth.
A man from Albuquerque, New Mexico who tried to pass off Philippine-made jewelry as Native American has been sentenced to six months in jail for violating the United States’ Indian Arts and Craft Act (IACA). The news only came to light in the Philippines today, following a report from ABS-CBN News.
A statement from the United States Attorney’s Office of New Mexico identified the man as Nael Ali, a 54-year-old businessman who owns two jewelry stores in the state.
According to the ABS-CBN News report, Ali already pleaded guilty last October. Aside from jail time, he would need to pay more than US$9,000 (more than PHP481,500) in restitution.
U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera also ordered him to a year of supervised release, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
According to the district attorney’s statement, the IACA prohibits the sale of merchandise which are falsely marketed as Native American-made.
The IACA was put in place to protect the livelihoods of Native Americans, as forgery might lead to plunging prices and standards.
The Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation also got involved in Ali’s case, investigating two factories in Cebu where the jewelry was reportedly made.
When Ali pleaded guilty to the crime last year, he admitted to mixing Filipino-made jewelry with Native American-made pieces without properly labeling that the former was made in the Philippines.
He also provided lists for employees with numbers and symbols to suggest the imported pieces were made by Native Americans and trained his employees to tell customers that the Philippine-made items were made by Native Americans.
