Nehal Modi, Nirav Modi’s brother, lied to get diamonds on credit and pawned them.
New Delhi:
Nehal Modi, brother of jeweler Nirav Modi, accused of PNB fraud and also wanted by the IWC in the same case, has been accused in the United States of defrauding a company worth more than a million dollars in diamonds.
Mr. Modi allegedly made “false statements” to obtain more than $ 2.6 million worth of gems from LLD Diamonds USA on favorable credit terms and on consignment, and then liquidated them for his own purposes, according to a Dec. 18 statement from the office of Manhattan. District Attorney, Cy Vance Junior.
“While diamonds can be forever, this flawed plan was not, and now Modi will face the clarity of an indictment from the New York Supreme Court,” Cy Vance Junior said in a statement Friday.
Modi, a resident of Antwerp, is brother Nirav Modi, the formerly Indian Belgian diamond merchant, known for his role in one of India’s largest bank fraud cases in recent years, in which he allegedly scammed $ 2 billion from the National Bank of Punjab. Nehal Modi himself is wanted by the CBI in a case related to PNB fraud, in which he is charged with number 27 and accused of destroying evidence in Dubai to cover the tracks of the alleged crime.
In announcing Nehal Modi’s indictment, the district attorney’s office statement said the defendant had approached LLD claiming he was seeking a relationship with Costco Wholesale Corporation and was seeking nearly $ 800,000 worth of diamonds to present to Costco for a possible sale.
He later lied to LLD that Costco had accepted the deal and purchased the diamonds on credit from LLD. However, Modi later pawned the diamonds to secure a short-term loan, according to the statement.
“Between April and May 2015, Modi returned to LLD three more times and took over $ 1 million in diamonds for alleged sales to Costco. Modi made a series of payments to LLD, but used most of the proceeds for personal use and Other Business Expenses To cover his fraud, Modi falsely claimed that he was having payment problems due to a ‘Costco compliance error’ and made repeated promises to satisfy the balance, “the statement said.
LLD eventually became aware of the fraud and demanded immediate payment of the balance or return of the diamonds. However, Modi had already sold or pawned them all and spent most of the proceeds. LLD subsequently reported the fraud to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The New York Supreme Court has now charged him with grand larceny in the first degree.
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