A university museum director and prominent scholar of Asian antiquities, who had traveled to the United States to attend a conference, was found dead of an apparent heart attack today in a federal detention center, the Associated Press reported.

Roxanna Brown, director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University, in Thailand, was arrested on Friday in Seattle, where she was scheduled to speak at the University of Washington. Ms. Brown, a U.S. citizen, was accused of wire fraud in connection with an antiquities smuggling case and had been awaiting transfer to Los Angeles to face charges there. During her detention she complained of being ill and missed a court date.

The charges against Ms. Brown stemmed from a federal investigation of two Los Angeles art dealers who were suspected of looting Southeast Asian artifacts. Authorities said they had found her electronic signature on appraisal forms listing inflated values for antiquities.

Bangkok University officials denied that they or Ms. Brown had any involvement in looting antiquities, according to the Bangkok Post. “To us, she has always been a dedicated scholar with a passion for ancient ceramics,” said Mathana Santiwat, the university’s president. —Martha Ann Overland