Smuggled relics, forged papers, and a shadowy underground trade in ancient history—this wasn’t a heist movie. It was the real-life operation run by Ijaz Khan, 42, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who was convicted today by a federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, for a sprawling conspiracy to traffic looted artifacts from Pakistan into the United States.
Khan was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States, procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, smuggling goods into the United States, mail fraud, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstruction of an official proceeding. The artifacts—pottery, bronze weapons, and coins—were ripped from burial sites and a cave temple known as the Kashmir Smast, a sacred site in northern Pakistan. Khan and his co-conspirator, Vera Lautt, 57, also of Santa Fe, used their business, Indus Valley, as a front to sell the stolen antiquities.
One shipment was intercepted at Dulles International Airport in October 2013. But instead of backing down, Khan and associates doubled down—flooding U.S. Customs and Border Protection with false documents in a brazen attempt to reclaim the illicit cargo. The operation didn’t stop at smuggling. Court records show Khan and Lautt submitted fraudulent applications to the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to secure Khan’s entry into the U.S. in 2003 and his naturalization as a U.S. citizen in 2009.
The fraud ran deep. To hide ties to Pakistan, Khan and Lautt concealed Khan’s wife and children overseas while he posed as a legitimate immigrant. The conspiracy executed eleven separate fraudulent immigration attempts—five succeeded, five were pending at the time of indictment. Using his illegally obtained citizenship, Khan filed petitions to bring in his four oldest children fraudulently, along with his brother, mother, and two youngest kids.
Lautt was convicted on two counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States and procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully. She now faces up to 10 years in prison. Khan, the mastermind, could get up to 20 years. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on May 5 by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. The maximum penalty is dictated by Congress, but the final sentence will hinge on federal guidelines and judicial discretion.
The case was announced by Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Steve A. Linick, Inspector General for the Department of State, and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Washington. Prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine L. Wong and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Harrison. Court documents are available via the Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office website and PACER under Case No. 1:16-cr-130.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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