They were examined by an Illinois attorney named Henrietta Mertz who cataloged the pieces. The Smithsonian fired off charges of fraud.
Well, I for one would certainly take the word of a person with no education, training, or expertise in the field over that of the dumb bastards at the Smithsonian.
The problem is this: if the plates are real, it would mean a large, organized community of Christians of some sort lived in Michigan and built the mounds.