Florida man forfeits 5,000-year-old clay tablets in antiquities smuggling case
A Florida man has forfeited antiquities dating back about 5,000 years after federal agents traced several shipments with falsely declared values to him, according to prosecutors. The artifacts will be returned to their countries of origin.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced the forfeiture Monday. The case began in July 2025, when customs officers detained a shipment from the United Arab Emirates bound for Pensacola International Airport. It was addressed to Matthew Weinberg of Miramar Beach, in Florida’s Panhandle.
The shipping paperwork listed two terracotta objects worth less than $200. An appraisal found that the shipment contained two clay tablets with cuneiform writing from what is now Iraq. The tablets dated to between 3000 and 2000 B.C. and were valued at more than $15,000 combined.
Investigators traced other shipments to Weinberg from Iran, Egypt and Cyprus. Those shipments contained bronze figures, ceramic models of buildings and terracotta idols, all declared at far less than their actual value.
Federal agents searched Weinberg’s home in March and seized ancient Hebrew Torah scrolls, scroll artwork from China and Egyptian artifacts dating to between about 712 and 525 B.C.
Photos released by prosecutors showed a tablet covered in rows of markings, several figurines and a scroll wound around two wooden rollers.
Prosecutors said U.S. import restrictions barred the suspect from possessing the artifacts. U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin said the seized items would be returned to their countries of origin.
The suspect also forfeited $75,000 that prosecutors identified as proceeds from violations of federal anti-smuggling laws. He will be barred for two years from buying or selling foreign antiquities or artifacts.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
