NY Diamond Dealer Pleads Guilty to Swapping Synthetics for Natural 

New York diamond dealer Manashe Sezanayev has pleaded guilty to grand larceny after defrauding two merchants out of $460,000 by “covertly swapping their diamonds for lab-grown stones.” 

The court is expected to sentence Sezanayev, who operated Rachel’s Diamonds in New York’s diamond district, to five years of probation, and order him to pay a restitution fee of $200,000 — which he has already done, according to a release the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office issued Friday. Sezanayev has also returned the $200,000 diamond. 

In February, a merchant visited Sezanayev at his office with two natural diamonds worth approximately $185,000 and $75,000 the dealer claimed to be interested in buying. When Sezanayev turned his back to the merchant to weigh the stones on his scale, he swapped them with lab-grown substitutes he’d had recut to imitate the natural diamonds and inscribed with forged laser inscriptions from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the report stated.  

A month later he told a second merchant he had a customer interested in buying his natural diamond, which was valued at approximately $200,000. The same day, Sezanayev purchased a lab-grown stone that was later recut to resemble that natural diamond and again forged with a fake GIA inscription. In April, Sezanayev met with the merchant and the purported customer, and examined the diamond. The merchant later learned the stone Sezanayev returned to him was not his original diamond, but a lab-grown cut to resemble it. 

“Manashe Sezanayev is facing accountability for stealing diamonds from merchants and replacing them with fake stones,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “We will continue to prosecute those who take advantage of consumers and conduct business deals in a dishonest manner.” 

Sezanayev, who originally faced 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, pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny in the second degree. It is not clear whether he will face further charges for the second count, as well as the other charges, or be forced to make restitution for the remaining $260,000. 

Image: Lab-grown diamonds. (Shutterstock)