NEW YORK – Authorities say 10 men have been arrested for defrauding wholesalers in New York City's diamond district out of millions of dollars in precious stones.
FBI special agent Luke Hardison writes in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday at least five victims were taken for more than $9 million in the scams.
The case was investigated by a task force of police, FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents who focus on Eurasian organized crime.
Authorities claim the diamond dealers persuaded wholesalers from India operating stores in New York to allow them to trade small, hard-to-trace stones. But they say the dealers avoided paying for the diamonds and instead told lies, bounced checks and used other tricks to resell the diamonds themselves.
Two suspects remain at large.
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