Five charged in alleged scheme to pass off art as Native American work

A federal grand jury has issued a second round of indictments alleging an international scheme to market Filipino-made jewelry as authentic Native American art, including in shops in Santa Fe.

The three-count indictment filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque accuses a former Gallup resident of manufacturing Native American-style jewelry in the Philippines and shipping it to the U.S. An Albuquerque gallery owner and three other co-defendants are accused of fraudulently selling the pieces as authentic works made by Native artists in a multistate operation, targeting New Mexico, California, Kentucky, Alaska and Nevada.

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