BROOKLYN — Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based craft store, agreed on Wednesday to pay $3 million and forfeit thousands of ancient Iraqi antiquities shipped through JFK airport using phony labeling.
The Brooklyn feds seized about 3,500 Iraqi antiquities in 2011 estimated to be worth $2 million purchased by the company and sent to Oklahoma City, where the craft company is based, in violation of U.S. and Iraqi law governing the purchase and shipping of artifacts, according to a civil claim filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
"We should have exercised more oversight and carefully questioned how the acquisitions were handled," Hobby Lobby President Steven Green said.
Green said that he had became interested in 2009 in beefing up his collection of ancient Bibles and artifacts for preservation and study. This year he launched the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., dedicated toward the study of the Bible.
The staunchly Christian head of the giant crafting outlet, which made national headlines for its successful Supreme Court challenge to the Obamacare birth control mandate, purchased the items from the United Arab Emirates in July 2010 then undervalued them on the shipping labels and hid their country of origin.
According to the feds, Hobby Lobby hired an outside consultant to instruct them on the purchase of the items, who warned them that the items may have been looted from archeological sites in Iraq and cautioned them that attempts to mask the country of origin could result in seizure and forfeiture.
Nevertheless, federal prosecutors said that the invoice for the Iraqi goods falsely claimed they were from Israel. The package containing the artifacts was also falsely labeled "ceramic tiles."
Other packages containing the seals did not indicate their value or their country of origin, according to a federal lawsuit seizing the property.
In December 2010, Hobby Lobby tried to ship the antiquities via FedEx, claiming they were worth less than $300.
"Hobby Lobby failed to implement and enforce adequate internal controls to ensure the compliance of United States laws that prohibited the entry of goods by false statements and without proper Customs declarations and the illegal importation of cultural property," according to a settlement agreement signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Orenstein.
The company copped to the charge, but said it was naive about importing such items.
"The company was new to the world of acquiring these items, and did not fully appreciate the complexities of the acquisitions process," according to Green. "This resulted in some regrettable mistakes."
The company said it has since come into compliance with the Association of Art Museum Directors standards.
"Our entire team is committed to the highest standards for investigating and acquiring these items. Our passion for the Bible continues, and we will do all that we can to support the efforts to conserve items that will help illuminate and enhance our understanding of this Great Book."
