A Brooklyn man on Wednesday was sentenced to six months in prison for smuggling Egyptian antiquities into the United States through John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to prosecutors.

Ashraf Omar Eldarir, 52, brought in about 600 artifacts, according to Joseph Nocella, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Eldarir previously pleaded guilty in February to four counts of smuggling.

On four occasions between April 2019 and January 22, 2020, Eldarir smuggled ancient Egyptian artifacts, according to the indictment and other court filings. Each time, Eldarir used fake provenances to sell those artifacts at U.S.-based auction houses. (Provenances are documents reflecting the history of ownership and custody of artifacts, which are used to establish that the artif

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