Oklahoma City (WBAP/KLIF) – The Hobby Lobby arts and craft chain has settled a civil suit brought against it by the U.S. Department of Justice. D.O.J. accused the company of smuggling thousands of ancient clay artifacts into the United States from Iraq. Most of those artifacts allegedly had been illegally looted from archeological sites in Iraq. As part of the settlement Hobby Lobby admitted it knowingly smuggled the artifacts into the U.S. labeled as “ceramics,” and “samples.” They were then shipped to some of its stores, and to Hobby Lobby’s corporate headquarters in Oklahoma City.
Hobby Lobby has agreed to pay a $3 million fine, and forfeit more than 5,500 ancient artifacts it acquired through illegal means.
Photo courtesy of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York