## Facts

- Frederick Schultz, a New York art dealer, entered a venture with Jonathan Tokeley-Parry and Egyptian tomb-robber Ali Farag to obtain Egyptian antiquities for sale in the United States.
- The venture involved illicit excavation, acquisition, and removal of antiquities from Egypt, sometimes aided by corrupt officials.
- The antiquities were disguised as low-value souvenirs and paired with fabricated provenance (including a fictitious “Thomas Alcock Collection”) to conceal illicit origin.
- High-value items included a sculpture head of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and a statue of Meryet Amun, later marketed and sold at prices reflecting their true value.
- The prosecution relied on Egyptian Law No. 117 of 1983, which defines qualifying antiquities as property of the Egyptian state and prohibits unauthorized export.
- Schultz was indicted for conspiracy to receive stolen property in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, predicated on 18 U.S.C. § 2315 (National Stolen Property Act), and was convicted by a jury.

## Issues

1. Whether cultural objects deemed state property under a foreign patrimony law can qualify as “stolen” property under 18 U.S.C. § 2315.
2. Whether Egyptian Law No. 117 of 1983 is an ownership (patrimony) law that vests title in the Egyptian state, rather than a mere export-control regulation.
3. Whether applying the NSPA by recognizing foreign ownership interests improperly enforces foreign public law or denies fair notice.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence.
- The court held that the NSPA applies where a foreign government asserts ownership of property pursuant to a valid, clear patrimony law.
- The court concluded Egyptian Law 117 clearly vests ownership of covered antiquities in the Egyptian state; unauthorized removal renders them “stolen” for NSPA purposes.
- The court rejected the argument that this amounted to enforcing foreign penal law, reasoning the foreign law was used only to determine ownership for application of a U.S. criminal statute.
- The court rejected fair-notice and vagueness challenges, emphasizing both the clarity of state ownership under Law 117 and evidence that Schultz knew the objects were illicitly obtained.

## Legal Principles

- “Stolen” under the NSPA can include cultural property taken from a foreign sovereign when the sovereign has, by clear patrimony law, vested ownership of a defined category of objects in the state.
- A foreign law that vests title in the state may create a property interest recognized in U.S. proceedings; consultation of foreign law for ownership does not constitute enforcement of foreign penal law.
- A foreign export restriction, without a clear state-ownership declaration, is generally insufficient by itself to transform exported goods into “stolen” property under the NSPA.
- Knowledge and concealment evidence (disguising objects, false provenance, marketing inconsistent with claimed low value) supports the inference that a defendant knew property was illicitly obtained.

## Conclusion

The Second Circuit affirmed Schultz’s conspiracy conviction, holding that antiquities covered by Egypt’s patrimony statute were Egyptian state property and thus “stolen” when removed without authorization, bringing their trafficking within the National Stolen Property Act.


United States v. Schultz, 333 F.3d 393 (2d Cir. 2003)