December 20, 2020 12:06:45 pm
Nehal, 41, is charged in the New York Supreme Court with grand theft in the first degree, said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr.
Nehal Modi, the younger brother of fugitive diamond designer Nirav Modi, has been charged here with fraudulently obtaining diamonds worth more than 2.6 million dollars from one of the world’s largest diamond companies in Manhattan.
Nehal, 41, is charged in the New York Supreme Court with grand theft in the first degree, said Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr.
“While diamonds may be forever, this flawed plan was not, and now Modi will face the clarity of an indictment from the New York Supreme Court. My office will not allow individuals who have the privilege of soliciting business in Manhattan’s iconic diamond industry to defraud our businesses or consumers, ”Vance said in a statement Friday.
According to the indictment, court documents and statements made on file with the court, between March 2015 and August 2015, Nehal, a former member of Noble Titan Holdings, made false statements to obtain more than $ 2.6 million in diamonds from LLD Diamonds USA. on favorable credit terms and consignment, and then liquidated the diamonds for his own purposes.
The statement said that Nehal, “who comes from a family well known in the diamond industry,” was initially introduced to the president of LLD Diamonds through industry associates.
In March 2015, he approached LLD, claimed he was seeking a relationship with Costco Wholesale Corporation, and asked the New York-based diamond company to provide several diamonds, worth nearly $ 800,000, to present to Costco for a possible sale.
After LLD provided the diamonds, Nehal falsely informed the company that Costco had agreed to buy them. Later, LLD allowed him to purchase the diamonds on credit, with the full payment required within 90 days. He then pawned the diamonds at Modell Collateral Loans to secure a short-term loan, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said.
Between April and May 2015, Nehal returned to LLD three more times and took more than $ 1 million in diamonds for alleged sales to Costco. He made a series of payments to LLD, but used most of the proceeds for personal use and other business expenses.
To cover up his fraud, Nehal falsely claimed he was having payment problems due to a “Costco compliance error” and made repeated promises to satisfy the balance, the statement said.
In August 2015, Nehal returned to LLD again and falsely claimed that Costco wanted to buy additional diamonds. This time, LLD allowed him to take the additional diamonds on consignment, with terms explicitly stating that he did not have the authority to sell the diamonds without LLD’s authorization.
LLD also required a partial payment up front in the event of a sale, as Nehal’s outstanding balance was nearly $ 1 million at the time.
Nehal had already contacted Modell to arrange an additional loan. After collecting the diamonds from LLD, he pawned most of the diamonds at Modell to secure two separate loans and sold the remainder of the diamonds to various retailers at a large discount from the listed shipping price.
LLD eventually discovered the fraud and demanded that you immediately pay your outstanding balance or return the diamonds. However, he had already sold or pawned all the diamonds and spent most of those earnings. LLD subsequently reported the fraud to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Nehal’s brother Nirav, 49, is wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated $ 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. He remains in Wandsworth Prison in south west London, where he has been housed since his arrest in March last year.
Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Nehal for charges of alleged money laundering that is being investigated by the Directorate of Enforcement. Nehal was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1979, and knows languages such as English, Gujarati and Hindi, according to the RCN issued by Interpol.
The New York Post quoted Nehal’s defense attorney, Roger Bernstein, as saying, “This is a business dispute” and that “Nehal is not guilty.”
A video on The Post’s website shows Nehal walking with Bernstein, who said “we are not discussing anything about the case” when asked about the Interpol notice.
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