Two western Washington artists face up to five years in prison after being charged with pretending to be Native American carvers to sell goods at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle.
The investigation into the two men, 67-year-old Jerry Chris Van Dyke (aka Jerry Witten) of Seattle and 52-year-old Lewis Anthony Rath of Maple Falls, began in early 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In February 2019, the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, which helps American and Alaskan Natives through the expansion of the Indian arts and crafts market, received a complaint about Van Dyke representing himself as a Nez Perce Indian artist.
More: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/two-arrested-native-art-pike-place-seattle/281-968f6459-e75f-4358-9ef0-9cbb3c671495
