ADVERTISEMENTs
.png)
Indian man jailed for jewellery fraud in New Jersey
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme to evade customs duties.
Stock image. / Pexels
An Indian-American jeweler based in New Jersey, who operated companies in New York City’s Diamond District, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. The man was orchestrating a scheme to evade customs duties on more than $13.5 million worth of jewelry imports and was running an unlicensed money transmitting business that processed over $10.3 million. Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced the sentencing on Jan.23.
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, also known as "Monish Doshi Shah," 40, of Mumbai, India, and Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Judge Salas handed down the sentence in Newark federal court and ordered Shah to begin serving his prison term immediately.
Details of the fraud scheme
According to court documents and statements, Shah engaged in a scheme between December 2019 and April 2022 to evade US customs duties on jewelry shipments from Turkey and India. To avoid the 5.5 percent import duty, Shah directed shipments to his companies in South Korea, where co-conspirators relabeled the jewelry to falsely state South Korean origin before forwarding them to the US.
Shah also instructed customers to create fake invoices and packing lists to disguise the true origin of the goods. Additionally, he ordered a third-party shipping company to submit false information to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In total, Shah avoided paying duties on approximately $13.5 million in jewelry imports.
Between July 2020 and November 2021, Shah operated several jewelry companies in New York City's Diamond District, including MKore LLC, MKore USA Inc., and Vruman Corp., using them to conduct illegal financial transactions. He converted large sums of cash into checks or wire transfers for customers, sometimes moving hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day. Shah and his associates charged fees for their services but failed to register their businesses with the relevant financial regulatory authorities, including New York, New Jersey, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Sentencing and additional penalties
In addition to the 30-month prison term, Judge Salas ordered Shah to pay $742,500 in restitution and forfeit $11,126,982.33 related to the wire fraud and unlicensed money transmitting schemes. Shah will also serve a two-year term of supervised release following his incarceration.
Law enforcement efforts
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited the successful investigation to special agents and task force officers from multiple agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations in New York and Newark, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of New York/Newark. Assistance was also provided by agencies in South Korea, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Paterson, local police departments in Parsippany-Troy Hills and Morristown, and the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).
The case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative, which aims to identify and dismantle major criminal organizations using a multi-agency approach.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olta Bejleri of the Economic Crimes Unit and Marko Pesce, Deputy Chief of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit in Newark.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
ADVERTISEMENT
.jpg)
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login