Indian accused in America of evading duty on jewelery worth millions of dollars
An Indian jeweler based in Mumbai and New Jersey has been accused of illegally evading customs duty on millions of dollars worth of jewelery imported into the United States. He is also accused of running an unlicensed money transfer operation.
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, 39, was captured over the weekend and brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre M. Espinosa in Newark federal court on February 26. He managed to be released on a $100,000 bond, but with strict conditions including house arrest and location monitoring.
The charges against Shah include one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of operating an unlicensed money transfer business.
According to court documents, it is said that between January 2015 and September 2023, Shah planned to avoid customs duties on jewelery shipments from Turkey and India to the US.
According to court documents, Shah shipped goods from Turkey or India to one of Shah’s companies in South Korea, which would have charged a 5.5% fee if shipped directly to the US.
Shah’s partners in South Korea allegedly changed the labels on the jewelery to make it appear as if they came from South Korea, thus avoiding duties. These converted shipments would then be sent to Shah or his customers in the US.
Additionally, Shah is accused of creating fake invoices and packing lists and instructing his customers to do the same, in order to falsely claim that the jewelery was ordered by his South Korean companies from Turkey or India.
It is further alleged that from July 2020 to November 2021, Shah allegedly operated several jewelry companies in the Diamond District of New York City, including Amkore LLC, Amkore USA Inc. Shah collected cash from customers and wired the cash. Or used jewelry companies to convert checks.
The Shah sometimes received more than a million dollars in cash in a single day. According to court documents, Shah allegedly charged fees for providing these services.
Prosecutors say none of Shah’s or his associates’ companies were registered as money transfer businesses with authorities in New York, New Jersey or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The charges against him include a complex web of customs evasion, document forgery and illegal financial transactions within the jewelery industry.