Newark: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark led an investigation with law enforcement partners spanning from India to New York and New Jersey, resulting in the discovery of a jeweler running a multimillion-dollar international trade fraud scheme and unlicensed money transmitting.

Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, a/k/a “Monish Doshi Shah” (Shah), 40, of Mumbai, India and Jersey City, New Jersey, who operated jewelry companies in New York City’s Diamond District was sentenced to 30 months for spearheading a scheme to illegally evade customs duties for more than $13.5 million of jewelry imports into the United States and for illegally processing more than $10.3 million through an unlicensed money transmitting business. He previously pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to a two-count Information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and operating and aiding and abetting the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.

According to the investigation, from approximately December 2019 to approximately April 2022, Shah engaged in a scheme to evade duties for shipments of jewelry from Turkey and India to the United States. Shah would ship and/or instruct his co-conspirators to ship goods from Turkey or India — which would have been subject to an approximately 5.5% duty if shipped directly to the United States — to one of Shah’s companies in South Korea. Shah’s co-conspirators in South Korea would change the labels on the jewelry to state that they were from South Korea instead of Turkey or India, and then ship them to Shah or his customers in the United States, thereby unlawfully evading the duty. Shah would also make and instruct his customers to make fake invoices and packing lists to make it look like Shah’s South Korean companies were actually ordering jewelry from Turkey or India. Shah also instructed a third-party shipping company to provide false information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection concerning the origin of the jewelry. During the scheme, Shah shipped approximately $13.5 million of jewelry from South Korea to the United States without paying the appropriate duty.

In addition, from approximately July 2020 through approximately November 2021, Shah owned and/or operated numerous jewelry companies in New York City’s Diamond District, including MKore LLC, MKore USA Inc, and Vruman Corp. Shah used these entities to conduct more than $10.3 million in illegal financial transactions for customers — including converting cash to checks or wire transfers. Shah would also collect cash from customers and use other individuals’ jewelry companies to convert the cash into wires or checks. At times, Shah and other members of the money transmitting business moved hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day. In exchange for their services, certain members of the money transmitting business charged a fee. None of Shah’s or his associates’ companies were registered as money transmitting businesses with New York, New Jersey, or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Salas ordered restitution in the amount of $742,500 for the wire fraud scheme and forfeiture in the amount of $11,126,982.33 for the wire fraud and unlicensed money transmitting schemes. In addition, the Court imposed a two-year term of supervised release.

HSI Newark partnered with HSI New York, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation in Newark, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the investigation leading to the sentence. International partners included the HSI attaché office in Seoul, and the Korea Customs Service, the Seoul Customs Special Investigation Office in South Korea. The DEA, the Parsippany -Troy Hills Police Department, the Morristown Police Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General and the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section assisted in the investigation.