New York busts $9 million diamond fraud

NEW YORK: Ten suspects were arrested Wednesday, accused of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar diamond fraud conspiracy from New York that extended to India and Las Vegas, officials announced.

Based in Manhattan´s diamond district, the suspects are accused of swindling wholesalers out of precious jewels by using bad checks and forged documents, and reselling them for more than $9 million.

The conspiracy allegedly defrauded a New York-based victim out of more than $2.4 million, four victims in Mumbai out of more than $7.4 million and conspired to defraud a jewelry merchant at a Las Vegas trade show.

Two other defendants remain at large.

Eleven of the defendants are Americans and one a citizen of Uzbekistan, lawfully entitled to live in the United States, prosecutors said.