NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A jury sentenced a 43-year-old diamond trader to three to nine years in prison for a scam in which he lied about peddling diamonds to Costco, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Friday.
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Nehal Modi falsely told LLD Diamonds USA, a Manhattan diamond wholesaler, that he had a contract with Costco to sell them $2.6 million worth of precious gems.
LLD then allowed him to buy the diamonds on credit with the understanding that he was acting as a middleman with Costco.
Between March and August 2015, Modi obtained about $1.8 million worth of diamonds from LLD, but instead of selling them to Costco, he pawned or sold them at a discount price.
The majority of the proceeds went toward personal use or other business expenses.
The company alerted authorities when they discovered the scam.
“Mr. Modi tricked this Manhattan company and pawned and sold diamonds that were not rightfully his on the cheap for his own financial gain,” said Bragg.
A New York State Supreme Court jury convicted him of grand larceny for the scheme.
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