A dinosaur skeleton was auctioned by Heritage last year. According to documents in a federal court case quaintly titled United States of America v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar Skeleton, the man who consigned the museum-quality skeleton to Heritage indicated on customs documents that the country of origin for the 8-foot-high, 24-foot-long fossil was Great Britain, when, according to paleontologists, T. bataar only lived in the Mongolian desert.
The May 20, 2012 New York auction was interrupted by an announcement from a lawyer that his client, the president of Mongolia, had gotten a temporary restraining order from a Texas state court judge prohibiting the sale. Heritage went ahead with the auction but made the sale contingent on resolution of the court proceedings and has cooperated with the feds.
No money ever changed hands between Heritage and the victorious bidder–who was ready to spend $1.05 million to display the skeleton in the lobby of an office building that he owned, Rohan says. The consigner of the skeleton has pleaded guilty to helping to smuggle numerous dinosaur remains into the U.S. and is out on $100,000 bail, awaiting sentencing.
As for the T. bataar, he’s been repatriated to his homeland.
See: “Stolen Dinosaur, Bought For $1 Million At New York Auction, Will Be Returned To Mongolia