TWO DIAMOND DEALERS CONVICTED FOR $12 MILLION FRAUD – NEW YORK, NY

On 10/24/18, diamond dealers – Sholom Muratov and Menachem Abramov were convicted of conspiring to defraud diamond sellers in Mumbai, India out of more than $12 million. The group specialized in “bust outs,” which is a type of scam that involves a con-artist building credit with a diamond dealer. The con-artist then takes the dealer’s diamonds on credit and does not pay for them. The perpetrators of this scheme typically targeted melee diamonds because they are harder to trace. The fraudulently obtained diamonds where then sold in New Yorck City’s Diamond District.  Ten other individuals have pleaded guilty in connection with this fraud. Muratov and Menachem will be sentenced in March 2019. They face 20 years in prison.