Federal agents have raided the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, and a warrant has been issued for the Pacific-Asia Museum in Pasadena. Authorities say the museums received looted Asian and Native American artifacts.
An alleged art smuggler and the owner of a Los Angeles gallery are accused of selling recently looted objects from Thailand and China to an undercover agent.
According to affidavits, they then arranged for the agent to donate the works to the museums at inflated values for unlawful tax deductions.
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