Washington man pleads guilty to selling fake Alaska Native art in Ketchikan krbd.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krbd.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Former Anchorage shop owner sentenced in Alaska Native art misrepresentation case Published March 10
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Print article The former owner of a downtown Anchorage gift shop was sentenced to probation Wednesday for misrepresenting hundreds of his own carvings as being made by an Alaska Native artist, violating federal law. Lee Screnock, 60, was first charged with misrepresentation of Indian produced goods and products and violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 2018. The charges against stemmed from Screnock’s time as the owner of Arctic Treasures, a Fourth Avenue shop that sold Alaska Native carvings and other art. The case against Screnock represents a rare federal prosecution for “Misrepresentation of Indian Produced Goods and Products,” under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, created to protect Alaska Native and American Indian artisans from having customary artwork copied and sold as authentic by non-Native people or companies.