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For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

Thursday, January 29, 2026

ALBUQUERQUE - After posing for years as a source of rare Native American art, a California man was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $134,443.60 in restitution for running a counterfeit jewelry operation that exploited the reputation of famed Hopi artist Charles Loloma and siphoned roughly five hundred thousand dollars from collectors nationwide.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Robert Haack, 59, carried out a years long scheme to defraud collectors by selling counterfeit jewelry falsely represented as authentic works by renowned Hopi artist Charles Loloma.

The evidence established that between approximately 2008 and 2015, Haack manufactured dozens of fake Loloma jewelry pieces in his California home and sold them through eBay and direct sales. Haack marketed the items as genuine pieces made in Loloma's workshop in Hotevilla, Arizona. Those representations were false. An investigation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service later confirmed that the jewelry was not made by Loloma. In total, Haack sold the forged pieces to more than ten victims across the country for approximately five hundred thousand dollars.

In 2018, federal authorities began criminal proceedings after undercover United States Fish and Wildlife Service agents purchased two forged pieces from Haack. In 2019, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Haack with multiple fraud related offenses arising from his counterfeit jewelry scheme.

In 2021, Haack entered guilty pleas to three fraud counts pursuant to a plea agreement that contemplated a sentence of home confinement. As sentencing approached, Haack refused to provide required financial information to the United States Probation Office. As a result, the court rejected the plea agreement, and Haack later withdrew his guilty pleas.

After the case was set for trial, Haack delayed the proceedings by feigning a cognitive medical condition, which raised competency concerns and resulted in a significant continuance. Following a thirty-day inpatient forensic evaluation, the court determined that Haack had been malingering and was competent to proceed.

In June 2024, after a four-day trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a federal jury found Haack guilty of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

"When individuals falsely claim jewelry as authentic Native American art for personal gain, they distort the marketplace and exploit both artists and consumers," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. "I commend the professionals whose diligence brought this case to verdict and justice for those harmed. Upholding the integrity of our markets and holding accountable those who undermine public trust remains a priority for this office."

"Robert Haack's counterfeit operation victimized customers and directly harmed the economic and cultural livelihood of Native American artists," said Assistant Director Doug Ault, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. "Protecting American Indian and Alaska Native culture and traditions is a critical part of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. Our dedicated team of special agents, working in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, diligently safeguards both American Indian and Alaska Native artists, as well as the consumers who seek genuine Native American art and crafts. This sentencing underscores the importance of these protections, and we thank our partners at the Department of Justice and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board for their invaluable assistance in this investigation."

"The Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the U.S. Department of the Interior (IACB) administers and enforces the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA), a truth-in-marketing law," said the Board's Director Meridith Stanton. "The IACA is intended to rid the Indian arts and crafts marketplace of fakes to protect the economic livelihoods and cultural heritage of Indian artists, craftspeople, and their Tribes, as well as the buying public. Authentic Indian art and craftwork is an important tool for passing down cultural traditions, traditional knowledge, and artistic skills from one generation to the next. The IACB commends the U.S. Attorney - District of New Mexico and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's IACA Investigative Unit for their outstanding work that led to today's sentencing of Robert Haack for his manufacture and sale of counterfeit Charles Loloma (Hopi) jewelry. As the father of contemporary Indian jewelry, Charles Loloma not only broke many Indian art industry barriers with his masterful work, he also inspired his Indian artist contemporaries and generations that followed to excel, push boundaries, and elevate Indian jewelry to new levels as never before. Mr. Haack's sales of counterfeit Indian art demean and rob authentic Indian artists who rely on the creation and sale of their artwork to put food on the table, make ends meet, and pass along these important cultural traditions and skills from one generation to the next. His actions undermine consumers' confidence in the Indian art market in the Southwest and nationwide. Now Mr. Haack has been brought to justice, and his sentencing should send a strong message to IACA violators that we will diligently work to find you and prosecute you under the IACA."

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Doug Ault, Southwest Region Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, made the announcement today.

The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Law Enforcement investigated this case with assistance from the Indians Arts and Crafts Board. The United States Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.