New York City diamond dealer Manashe Sezanayev, 41, has been charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly switched natural diamonds with lab-growns cut to match the original stones’ specifications.
A press release from Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg said Sezanayev, owner of Rachel’s Diamonds in the Diamond District, had been indicted in connection with two separate incidents.
In February, Sezanayev expressed interest in buying two natural diamonds from another dealer, worth $185,000 and $75,000, which he then swapped for two lab-grown stones with forged GIA laser inscriptions while he was weighing the gems on a scale in his office, the DA’s statement said.
Sezanayev later allegedly pulled a similar switch with a $200,000 diamond from a different wholesaler. Sezanayev had told that dealer he had a buyer for the diamond, prosecutors said, but on the same day Sezanayev purchased a lab-grown stone, which was recut to resemble the natural diamond and marked with a fake GIA inscription. Sezanayev later returned the lab-grown to the dealer instead of the original natural gem, the complaint said.
Sezanayev has been charged with two counts of second-degree grand larceny, one count of scheming to defraud in the first degree, and three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree. He has pleaded not guilty.
His attorney, Boris Nektalov, told the Associated Press: “My client is presumed innocent and he’s going to wait for his day in court.”
In 2018, Sezanayev pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to defraud wholesalers.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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