California man convicted of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria
A California man has been found guilty of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria
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Your support makes all the difference.A California man has been found guilty of illegally importing an ancient mosaic from Syria, federal prosecutors said.
Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi, 56, of Palmdale, was convicted by a jury Wednesday on one count of “entry of falsely classified goods,” the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.
The mosaic, which depicts a tale from mythology in which Hercules rescues Prometheus, dates to the Roman Empire, prosecutors said. Authorities believe it was looted from war-torn Syria.
According to prosecutors, Alcharihi purchased the mosaic for $12,000 and falsely classified its value and quality when it was imported through the Port of Long Beach, California.
It arrived as part of a container shipment from Turkey that was declared as ceramic tiles worth less than $600. The approximately 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) mosaic was trucked to Alcharihi's home, where federal agents seized it from his garage in 2016.
Alcharihi had paid $40,000 to restore the mosaic and a government appraisal expert valued it at $450,000, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Alcharihi faces up to two years in prison. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Aug. 31.