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New Jersey Jeweler Sentenced to 2 1/2 Years for Evading Customs
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah pleaded guilty to evading customs on more than $13.5 million of jewelry imported into the U.S.
Jeweler Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, also known as Monish Doshi Shah, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to evading customs duties and processing millions of dollars through an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Newark, N.J.—A 40-year-old jeweler was sentenced to 30 months in prison last week after pleading guilty to evading customs duties and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, also known as Monish Doshi Shah, of Mumbai, India, and Jersey City, New Jersey, evaded customs on more than $13.5 million in jewelry imported into the United States, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
He was also found to have processed more than $10.3 million through an unlicensed money transmitting business.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Shah’s schemes to evade paying customs duties on jewelry started in December 2019 and continued through April 2022.
The jeweler or his conspirators would ship jewelry from Turkey or India to one of Shah’s companies in South Korea. If these goods had been shipped directly to the U.S., they would have been subject to a 5.5 percent duty.
Shah’s connections would change the labels on the jewelry to state that the shipments were from South Korea instead of Turkey or India, according to court documents and statements made in the case.
The goods then were shipped to Shah or his customers in the U.S., unlawfully evading customs duties, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Shah told his connections to make fake invoices and packing lists to make it look like his South Korean companies were ordering the jewelry from Turkey or India.
He also instructed a third-party shipping company to provide false information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the origin of the jewelry.
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Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, also known as Monish Doshi Shah, of Mumbai, India, and Jersey City, New Jersey, evaded customs on more than $13.5 million in jewelry imported into the United States, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.
He was also found to have processed more than $10.3 million through an unlicensed money transmitting business.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Shah’s schemes to evade paying customs duties on jewelry started in December 2019 and continued through April 2022.
The jeweler or his conspirators would ship jewelry from Turkey or India to one of Shah’s companies in South Korea. If these goods had been shipped directly to the U.S., they would have been subject to a 5.5 percent duty.
Shah’s connections would change the labels on the jewelry to state that the shipments were from South Korea instead of Turkey or India, according to court documents and statements made in the case.
The goods then were shipped to Shah or his customers in the U.S., unlawfully evading customs duties, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Shah told his connections to make fake invoices and packing lists to make it look like his South Korean companies were ordering the jewelry from Turkey or India.
He also instructed a third-party shipping company to provide false information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the origin of the jewelry.
Shah also pleaded guilty to one count of operating, and aiding and abetting the operation of, an unlicensed money transmitting business.
From July 2020 through November 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Shah owned and/or operated several jewelry companies in New York’s Diamond District, including MKore LLC, MKore USA Inc., and Vruman Corp.
He used these businesses to conduct more than $10.3 million in illegal financial transactions for customers, including converting cash to checks or wire transfers, according to statements and court documents.
He would also collect cash from customers and use other individuals’ jewelry companies to convert the cash into wires or checks.
Shah was charged in an information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in September.
In addition to serving 30 months in prison, Shah agreed to pay CBP restitution of $742,500 for evading customs and forfeit a total of $11.1 million for the customs evasion and unlicensed money transmitting schemes.
The court also set a two-year term of supervised release.
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