Manhattan diamond dealer charged in scheme to swap real diamonds for fakes

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan diamond dealer with a history of gemstone fraud has been indicted in what officials described as a scheme to swindle his fellow merchants out of nearly half a million dollars. Prosecutors say Manashe Sezanayev invited fellow diamond merchants to his shop in Manhattan’s diamond district, then covertly swapped their real stones with lab grown imitations. He pleaded not guilty Thursday to the charges. His attorney says Sezanayev is presumed innocent and is waiting for his day in court. Sezanayev was previously arrested on federal charges in 2017 in a separate diamond fraud scheme. He pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to a year in prison.