Miramar Beach man forfeits ancient artifacts, $75,000 to federal government

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A Miramar Beach man surrendered ancient artifacts and $75,000 to the federal government after investigators found that shipments sent to him were significantly undervalued on customs documents, prosecutors said.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, Matthew Weinberg will also be barred from buying or selling foreign antiquities or artifacts for two years. Officials said the artifacts will be returned to their countries of origin.

The investigation began in July 2025, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Pensacola alerted Homeland Security Investigations agents to a shipment bound for Weinberg at Pensacola International Airport, prosecutors said. The shipment had arrived from the United Arab Emirates.

Its manifest described two terracotta objects worth less than $200. An appraisal after the shipment was detained found that it contained two cuneiform tablets from the area of modern-day Iraq, dating to between 3000 and 2000 B.C. and worth more than $15,000 combined, according to prosecutors.

Investigators examined other shipments to Weinberg and found artifacts from Iran, Egypt and Cyprus, prosecutors said. Those shipments were also significantly undervalued on their manifests and included bronze figures, ceramic architectural models and terracotta idols.

In March 2026, federal agents searched Weinberg’s Miramar Beach home and confiscated additional items, including ancient Hebrew Torah scrolls, scroll artwork from China and Egyptian objects dating to approximately 712 to 525 B.C., the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Prosecutors said Weinberg wasn’t allowed to have the artifacts because of import restrictions the U.S. had agreed to with countries including Iraq, Egypt and Cyprus. The office said he had to give up the $75,000 because it was proceeds from violations of federal anti-smuggling laws.

Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigated the case.

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