CrimeJan 12, 2023
Thieves Steal $2M in Jewelry in Another Brooklyn RobberyCrimeFeb 06, 2023
Queens Jeweler Convicted of Laundering Stolen Luxury Watches
A jury found Stanislav Yakubov guilty of money laundering and making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York is asking anyone who knows the whereabouts of the stolen watches pictured to contact them. Jeweler Stanislav Yakubov has been convicted of laundering the stolen goods.
New York—It’s the end of the road for a jeweler accused of laundering stolen luxury watches.
A jury found Stanislav “Steve” Yakubov, owner of a jewelry store in the Jamaica Colosseum Mall in Queens, New York, guilty on one count of money laundering and two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced Feb. 1.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos presided over the eight-day trial. Ramos will sentence 42-year-old Yakubov on June 1.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Yakubov agreed to purchase stolen luxury watches valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the watches were stolen from jewelers in Yakubov’s community, and some in violent armed robberies.
“Yakubov’s actions fueled a year-long robbery spree that targeted nearly a dozen victims, and his conviction sends a message to the community that the purchase and laundering of stolen property will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
There are 10 robberies and attempted robberies to which Yakubov is linked.
The robberies took place in 2019 and 2020, according to evidence presented at trial and the trial’s superseding indictment.
On Oct. 3, 2019, a Long Island City, New York, jeweler was robbed of a Richard Mille watch worth more than $150,000. On Oct. 25, 2019, a Jamaica, New York, jeweler was robbed of a Rolex worth more than $118,000. On Dec. 10, 2019, a Brooklyn, New York, jeweler was robbed of a Patek Philippe worth more than $160,000, as well as a diamond necklace valued at over $77,000.
On Jan. 14, 2020, a Rego Park, New York, jeweler was robbed of a Richard Mille watch worth more than $500,000. On Feb. 16, 2020, a Jamaica Estates, New York, jeweler was robbed of an Audemars Piguet watch worth over $28,000. On. Feb. 20, 2020, an individual in Long Island City was robbed of a watch valued at over $125,00.
Things cooled off during the earliest pandemic lockdowns, when jewelry stores were closed, but resumed in June 2020.
On June 11, 2020, a Hoboken, New Jersey, jeweler was robbed of a Richard Mille timepiece valued at more than $81,000. On July 6, 2020, another jeweler in Hoboken was robbed of a Richard Mille watch worth more than $180,000.
On July 20, 2020, there was an attempted robbery of a Richard Mille watch worth more than $180,000 from a jeweler in Queens.
Finally, on Aug. 2, 2020 a food critic and social media influencer was robbed of a Richard Mille watch worth more than $250,000 in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
In all of these successful robberies, additional items were stolen, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
As for the robbers themselves, one of the men, Victor Rivera, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery between October 2019 and November 2020. Rivera used guns to commit several of the robberies and in one, shot a victim who survived.
He was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York is asking anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of the stolen watches to contact them at 1-866-874-8900.
In addition to Yakubov’s money laundering conviction, he was also convicted of two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.
The former carries a maximum 20-year sentence and the latter a five-year maximum sentence each.
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