A jeweler who operated several companies in New York City's Diamond District was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison Thursday after admitting to avoiding customs duties on over $13.5 million in jewelry he imported from Turkey, officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, also known as Monish Doshi Shah, 40, of Mumbai, India and Jersey City previously pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
From December 2019 through April 2022, Shah imported jewelry from Turkey through South Korea, where it was relabeled to avoid import tariffs, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Shah, instead of shipping jewelry directly to the United States from Turkey or India, shipped the goods to one of his companies in South Korea where co-conspirators would change the label to make the goods appear to be from South Korea before shipping to Shah or his customers.
In making the jewelry appear to be from South Korea, Shah avoid a 5.5% tariff, officials said.
Shah also instructed his customers to create fake invoices and packing lists to make it appear that Shah's South Korean companies had actually ordered the goods from Turkey and India, officials said.
He even had a third-party shipping company lie to U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding the origin of the jewelry in order to avoid duties on over $13.5 million in goods, according to authorities.
Shah also operated an unlicensed money transmitting business from July 2020 through November 2021 at his businesses in New York's Diamond District, officials said.
Shah used his companies to process over $10.3 million in illegal transactions where authorities said he converted cash into checks or wire transfers. He also collected cash from customers and used others' jewelry businesses to convert the cash into wire transfers and checks, officials said.
At times, Shah and others moved hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day through their illegal money transmitting business, according to authorities.
Besides his prison sentence, Shah was ordered to pay $742,500 in restitution for the wire fraud scheme and forfeit over $11 million, officials said. He must also serve two years of supervised release.
Shah's attorney Rahul Agarwal said he and Shah were disappointed with the sentence issued Thursday but respected the court's decision.
"Monish's involvement in this activity ended over three years ago, well before the Government brought charges," Agarwal said in an emailed statement to NJ Advance Media. "He is extremely remorseful. He thanks his family and friends for their continued support, and he looks forward to returning to India upon completion of his sentence."