10 held for duping US, Indian nationals

NEW YORK: Ten people have been arrested and two others charged for allegedly duping persons in New York, Las Vegas and Mumbai to the tune of over $9 million through fraudulent diamond trade.

“Centered in Manhattan’s diamond district, America’s busiest hub in the diamond trade, the defendants allegedly took advantage of an industry-wide system of credit and trust to obtain largely untraceable diamonds, and then, using various allegedly illegal schemes, refused to pay,” acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon Kim said.

Since in or about 2015, the FBI has been investigating a series of predatory frauds perpetrated by a group of diamond merchants in the city. This group swindles diamond wholesalers in a variety of ways, and then resells the ill-gotten

THE ACCUSED ALSO INDUCED VICTIMS IN MUMBAI TO SEND DIAMONDS BY AGREEING TO PAYMENT TERMS THAT THEY HAD NO INTENTION TO HONOUR.

diamonds through Manhattan’s diamond district.

From at least January 2015 to November 2016, the defendants deployed an ad hoc strategy to obtain as much of the diamond inventory from the victims as possible without full payment, the attorney said.

The 12 accused have been charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.