New York, NY- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the indictment of ALEX BORDERS a/k/a ALEX HOLLINGER, 46, for using a purported diamond company, “Hollinger Diamonds,” to steal more than $300,000 in jewelry and advertising space in high-end magazines between August 2023 and May 2024. BORDERS also allegedly stole more than $3,000 in wages from a full-time executive assistant. BORDERS is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and six counts of Issuing a Bad Check. [1]
“As alleged, Alex Borders went to extreme lengths to create a purported diamond company and steal from consumers, magazine publications, and an employee who put in hours of work for zero pay,” said District Attorney Bragg. “With the enactment of New York State Senate Bill S2832A, wage theft is now a form of Grand Larceny, allowing us to bring stronger charges against employers who exploit their workers. This investigation is ongoing – please call the Financial Frauds Bureau at 212-335-8900 if you may be a victim.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, between August 9, 2023, and May 16, 2024, BORDERS allegedly stole over $300,000 in jewelry, advertising space in high-end magazines and employee wages through an entity called Hollinger Diamonds. Using the name ALEX HOLLINGER, BORDERS wrote multiple bad checks to purchase full-page color advertisements in Condé Nast publications The New Yorker and GQ. The advertisements promoted Hollinger Diamonds, which purported to be a midtown Manhattan business that purchased jewelry in exchange for “immediate payment.”
BORDERS, using the HOLLINGER alias, then arranged for at least five individuals to mail jewelry to Hollinger Diamonds in midtown Manhattan, and, after acknowledging receipt of the jewelry and a payment price, issued checks that bounced because the bank accounts those checks were drawn from had been closed or lacked sufficient funds.
The victims, who had learned about the business from the magazine advertisements or the Hollinger Diamonds website, were never paid the promised amounts, nor was their jewelry ever returned. When they contacted BORDERS or Hollinger Diamonds seeking the promised payment, BORDERS would either evade their phone calls and emails, or offer a series of excuses for not making payment.
In January 2024, BORDERS stole more than $3,000 in wages from an individual hired to work full-time as an executive assistant at Hollinger Diamonds. BORDERS first issued her a series of checks that were drawn from bank accounts that were either closed or lacked sufficient funds, and subsequently refused to make any other payment. That employee was never paid for any of the labor she performed at Hollinger Diamonds.
The victims reported the thefts to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Immigrant Affairs Unit and Financial Frauds Bureau.
Assistant D.A. Luis Morales (Chief of the Immigrant Affairs Unit) is handling the prosecution of this case with Assistant D.A. Joseph Pepe (Financial Frauds Bureau) under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Hope Korenstein (Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau), Assistant D.A. Kofi Sansculotte (Bureau Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau), and Jodie Kane (Chief of the Investigation Division).
Press release provided by Manhattan District Attorney office, click here to view actual press release.