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“Smuggling Protected Cultural Property is Not ‘Commercial Trade,'” Say Federal Attorneys in Peruvian Artifacts Forfeiture Case

ByRick St. Hilaire

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida last week filed its Response to the Claimant’s Motion to Dismiss in the case involving forfeiture of Peruvian artifacts…

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A Big Deal? CPIA Embargo Argument Raised in U.S. v. Peruvian Artifacts

ByRick St. Hilaire

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained what it calls “ancient indigenous artifacts” from Peru when Jean Combe Fritz, a Peruvian citizen, arrived at Miami International Airport in August 2010….

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U.S. v. Cambodian Sculpture Case Heats Up: Prosecutors Accuse Sotheby’s of Stalling the Discovery Process and False Information; Sotheby’s Accuses the Government of Burdensome Conduct and Invented Legal Theories

ByRick St. Hilaire

A letter filed by prosecutors before today’s scheduled pre-trial conference in the case of United States of America v. A 10th Century Cambodian Sandstone Sculpture Currently Located at Sotheby’s criticizes…

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Stakes Raised in Peruvian Artifacts Forfeiture Case: Claimant Says Objects Not Peruvian as Prosecutors Make New Assertions in Second Forfeiture Complaint

ByRick St. Hilaire

Miami, Florida. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida on July 18 filed a second complaint to forfeit Peruvian cultural property. The complaint alleges that Jean Combe Fritz,…

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Litigants Remain Far Apart in Ancient Coins Forfeiture Case

ByRick St. Hilaire

“In short, the parties have dramatically different views as to how this case should proceed.” That is the conclusion of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland after a July 15…