Rodrigo Family, Selling Counterfeit Artwork, Washington 2024
The Rodrigo family, a Washington state family, has been sentenced for selling over $1 million of counterfeit Alaska Native artwork.
Glenda Tiglao Rodrigo, 46, was sentenced to up to six months' home confinement and 240 hours of community service, while her son Christian Ryan Tiglao Rodrigo, 24, was sentenced to up to three months' home confinement and 200 hours of community service. Both defendants are required to serve five years' probation and write a letter of apology to be published in the Ketchikan Daily Newspaper.
The family was found to have sold the counterfeit artwork through their companies, Alaska Stone Arts, LLC and Rail Creek, LLC, in Ketchikan, Alaska. The artwork was sourced from Rodrigo Creative Crafts, a company owned by Glenda Rodrigo and located in the Philippines.
The Philippine business was created for the sole purpose of producing carvings featuring Alaska Native designs and motifs using Philippine labor. The carvings were shipped to the U.S. and then to the family's stores in Ketchikan, where they were later sold as authentic Alaska Native art.
Christian Rodrigo helped with the day-to-day operations and worked as a salesperson at both stores, while Glenda Rodrigo oversaw the business affairs for both stores. The family also hired Alaska Natives at both Ketchikan stores to represent and sell Philippine produced artwork as their own authentic Alaska Native artwork.
Cristobal Rodrigo, the family patriarch, was sentenced to two years in prison in August 2023 for his role in the scheme. His sentence was later reduced to 18 months in June 2024. The family was ordered to jointly pay over $54,000 in restitution.
The case is a testament to the federal government's commitment to prosecuting Indian Arts and Crafts Act violations. The Act is intended to rid the Alaska Native and Indian arts and crafts marketplace of fakes and counterfeits.
Defendant/Respondent: Glenda Tiglao Rodrigo and Christian Ryan Tiglao Rodrigo
Criminal Charges: Violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act
City and State: Juneau, Alaska
Date: August 2023 (sentencing of Cristobal Rodrigo) and June 2024 (reduction of sentence)
Sentence: Glenda Tiglao Rodrigo - up to six months' home confinement and 240 hours of community service; Christian Ryan Tiglao Rodrigo - up to three months' home confinement and 200 hours of community service
Dollar Amounts: $1 million (value of counterfeit artwork sold); $54,000 (restitution)
Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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