A Floridian man has been forced to give up two ancient Hebrew Torah scrolls and Mesopotamian tablets dating back as far as 4,000 years after smuggling them into the US.
Federal agents searched the Miramar Beach home of Matthew Weinberg in March 2026 and seized the scrolls and numerous other antiquities, according to court filings.
Among the items were a bronze figure of the Egyptian goddess Isis nursing Horus, a statuette of Isis, an Iranian stone plaque depicting a scorpion from the third millennium BCE, and a terracotta female idol from Cyprus dating to approximately 1450-1200 BCE, according to an affidavit.
The investigation began in July 2025, when US Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted a shipment from the United Arab Emirates destined for Weinberg.
Its customs manifest described two terracotta objects worth less than $200. Appraisers instead identified them as Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets dating to 3000-2000 BCE, with a combined value exceeding $15,000, prosecutors said.
Investigators subsequently examined other shipments, including some addressed to Weinberg's grandmother, who died in February 2021.
One contained a medieval Persian ceramic architectural model that investigators believe Weinberg purchased on eBay for approximately $2,000, although its declared shipping value was $250.
According to the affidavit, investigators also uncovered WhatsApp exchanges between Weinberg and a vendor discussing how to avoid customs detection by concealing the identities and values of antiquities.
His phone also contained queries to ChatGPT about laws governing the importation of Egyptian and Iraqi artifacts.
Court filings identified approximately 117 international shipments associated with Weinberg's purchases between September 2024 and March 2026. About 109 arrived without being intercepted.
The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida said the artifacts were subject to import restrictions negotiated between the United States and their countries of origin, including Iraq, Egypt, and Cyprus.
“These improperly obtained foreign antiquities have been recovered and will be repatriated back to their countries of origin,” stated John Heekin, US attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
In addition to forfeiting the artifacts for repatriation, Weinberg surrendered $75,000 in proceeds from violations of federal anti-smuggling statutes.
He is also barred from purchasing or selling foreign antiquities or artifacts for two years.
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