Indian-American jeweller indicted in multi-million dollar international trade fraud

NEW DELHI: Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, a 39-year-old Indian jeweler based in both Mumbai and New Jersey, has been indicted on charges of illegally evading custom duty on millions of dollars worth of jewelry imports into the United States. In addition, he is accused of operating unlicensed money transmitting businesses.

Shah was arrested over the weekend and appeared before US magistrate judge Andre M Espinosa in the Newark federal court on February 26. He was subsequently released on a $100,000 bond, with conditions including home detention and location monitoring.

The charges against Shah include one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of operating, aiding, and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. According to court documents, Shah engaged in a scheme from January 2015 through September 2023 to evade custom duty for shipments of jewelry from Turkey and India to the US.

Shah and his conspirators shipping goods from Turkey or India, which would have incurred approximately a 5.5% duty if shipped directly to the US, to one of Shah's companies in South Korea. Prosecutors claim that Shah's conspirators in South Korea would then alter the labels on the jewelry to indicate that they originated from South Korea, rather than Turkey or India. Subsequently, these unlawfully manipulated shipments would be sent to Shah or his customers in the US, effectively evading the required custom duty.

Furthermore, during the course of the scheme, Shah is accused of creating fake invoices and packing lists, instructing his customers to do the same, to falsely represent that the jewelry was being ordered from Turkey or India by his South Korean companies.

Prosecutors assert that Shah shipped millions of dollars worth of jewelry from South Korea to the US during the period under investigation. From July 2020 through November 2021, Shah allegedly operated multiple jewelry companies in New York City's Diamond District, including MKore LLC, MKore USA Inc., and Vruman Corp. These entities were purportedly used for conducting millions of dollars in illegal financial transactions, including converting cash to checks or wire transfers.

The court documents state that Shah collected cash from customers and utilized conspirators' jewelry companies, also situated in the Diamond District, to convert the cash into wires or checks. It is alleged that Shah and his conspirators, at times, moved more than a million dollars of cash in a single day. In exchange for these services, Shah and his conspirators reportedly charged a fee.

Notably, prosecutors highlight that none of Shah's or his conspirators' companies were registered as money transmitting businesses with relevant authorities such as New York, New Jersey, or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The charges on the accussed involve operating and creating a complex scheme involving customs evasion, falsification of documents, and illicit financial transactions within the jewelry industry.