A New York diamond dealer has been accused of defrauding two sellers by swapping natural diamonds worth $460,000 with lab-grown replicas, according to recent court documents.
Manashe Sezanayev, 41, who owns Rachel’s Diamonds in Manhattan’s Diamond District, has a history involving a previous one-year prison sentence in 2018 for participating in a $9 million fraud with other individuals targeting diamond wholesalers.
The recent allegations detail that Sezanayev purportedly expressed interest in purchasing two diamonds valued at $185,000 and $75,000 from a merchant who visited his shop in February. Allegedly, while weighing the diamonds on his scale, he turned away and switched them for lab-grown replicas that had been recut to resemble natural stones and falsely inscribed with GIA markings.
In March, he allegedly informed another merchant that a customer was keen on buying a $200,000 diamond. It is claimed that he then acquired a replica stone, once more with a counterfeit GIA inscription, and replaced it with the genuine mined diamond.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg remarked, “Diamonds are forever, but this alleged scheme was short-lived. As alleged, Manashe Sezanayev exploited diamond merchants by stealing their diamonds and substituting them with fake stones. Merchants are expected to conduct business fairly and honestly. Those who exploit consumers will face consequences.”
Sezanayev faces charges in a New York State Supreme Court indictment including two counts of grand larceny in the second degree, one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree, and three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree.
His attorney, Boris Nektalov, responded to the allegations, stating, “My client is presumed innocent and he awaits his day in court.”
