I am an owner of a 40w laser engraver, and an immediate family member of mine is a professional woodworker, so I am familiar with most of the tools involved here, yet none of the evidence you have produced as of yet is 100% proof of anything.
Others, likewise qualified and more than you, have chimed in and said the opposite, that it's clear the intricate designs are laser cut. My question to you, as an observer to this issue and an outsider to wood working, specifically what makes you and I presume your family friend, disagree with that assessment?