On June 18, a Jersey City, N.J., jeweler pleaded guilty to allowing a credit card fraud ring to process phony transactions at his store, according to a statement from the New Jersey U.S. attorney.
Vinod Dadlani, owner of Tanishq Jewels, copped to one charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the statement said. He faces 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he is sentenced Sept. 24.
During his plea proceeding, Dadlani was said to have admitted that members of the theft ring regularly came to his store and swiped cards he knew did not legitimately belong to them. He would then split the proceeds of the phony transactions with the conspirators, the statement charged.
The original indictment alleges that more than 69 percent of the transactions at Tanishq’s two merchant terminals were fraudulent, adding up to $325,000 of phony charges.
Three other men, who owned two other Jersey City jewelry stores, have also been charged in the scheme, but their cases have not been resolved at press time.
Dadlani is the 17th person to plead guilty in the credit card fraud scheme, one of the largest ever brought before the Department of Justice. The scheme caused the creation of tens of thousands of phony credit cards, leading to more than $200 million in losses to business and financial institutions.
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