A Canadian man has been sentenced to 56 months in a U.S. prison for orchestrating a $15 million diamond fraud scheme. James Gagliardini, 46, defrauded about 200 victims, many of whom were seniors or inexperienced investors, through unsolicited phone calls. He convinced them to invest in non-existent pink diamonds.
Gagliardini operated Paragon International Wealth Management Inc., based in Toronto, from 2013 until police raided the offices in 2018. During this time, he and his accomplices used misleading information to persuade victims to invest more money.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Ohio, representatives from Paragon urged potential investors to make small investments in pink diamonds, claiming these would increase in value. If someone agreed to invest, the company often sent them a real pink diamond and a legitimate appraisal certificate as a show of good faith.
Gagliardini faced U.S. court proceedings since most of his victims were American citizens. One victim shared their experience, saying, “I charged a large amount on my credit card to purchase the diamonds. I never received any diamonds, just excuses. I had to sell my company to pay off the debt. I was going to use the money to help retire.”
Gagliardini pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which significantly reduced his sentence.
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