A New Mexico husband and wife have pleaded guilty to smuggling jewelry out of Vietnam and passing it off at trade shows in the United States as Native American-made. 

Kiem Thanh Huynh, 60, and My Ngoc Truong, 61, entered their plea in North Carolina federal court on Monday and agreed to forfeit a little more than $340,000 earned from their crimes. 

The pair were both charged with misrepresentation of Indian goods in an amount greater than $1,000, in violation of the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act, and smuggling, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina. 

Prosecutors said that Huynh and Truong co-owned and operated a company called MT Jewelry MFG Inc, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and falsely claimed that the jewelry they sold was made by Native American artists in their shop.

The company, which sold to wholesale customers, said on its website that it specialized 'in creating unique and handmade southwestern jewelry.' 

The website also claimed that the company sold 'pieces that capture the essence of the land of enchantment' and that its jewelry was 'one-of-a-kind.'

In reality, the items they sold, including pendants, bracelets and rings, were imported en masse from Vietnam and manufactured to resemble Native American jewelry, according to prosecutors.

The pieces mimicked native styles by incorporating unique stones, fish and other wildlife products. They were also marked with inscriptions or other indicators commonly used by Native American artists to authenticate their work. 

Prosecutors said that Huynh and Truong failed to indicate that the items were imported before selling them.

Investigators unraveled the scheme between December 2023 and July 2024, when they intercepted six shipments from Vietnam bound for MT Jewelry. Inside the shipments, they found bulk amounts of the counterfeit goods. 

The US Attorney's Office said that Huynh and Truong admitted to attending wholesale gem, mineral & jewelry trade shows, called GLW Shows, in Western North Carolina on two occasions. 

At the trade shows, they sold the fake Native American jewelry that had previously been intercepted by investigators while passing it off as genuine to unsuspecting buyers. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to GLW Shows for comment on the goods the couple sold on premises.  

Prosecutors said that the couple was fully aware that the goods they were selling were not authentic.

Huynh and Truong are currently out of custody until their sentencing hearing. They face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison for the Indian Arts and Crafts Act violation, and up to 20 years in prison for the smuggling charge. 

Since their indictment, the couple has scrubbed their social media pages and gutted the company website where they sold their counterfeit jewelry. 

The website no longer has a catalog, and on the homepage, the word 'style' has been added to the line, 'we specialize in providing unique and handmade southwestern style jewelry.'

In the announcement of the couple's guilty plea, US Attorney Russ Ferguson said: 'Those who profit by passing off counterfeit goods as authentic Native American items are not just deceiving buyers, they are exploiting culture and taking income from Native American artists and their communities.

'Protecting the integrity of Native American art and heritage is vital to persevering Indian cultural traditions and economic opportunity. 

'My office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement counterparts to investigate these cases and hold accountable anyone who seeks to profit from counterfeit Indian items.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to GLW Shows for comment.