CrimeFeb 11, 2025
2 Men Charged With Selling Stolen Jewelry, Watches in NYC Diamond DistrictCrimeMar 04, 2025
NYC Diamond Dealer Pleads Guilty to Lab-Grown Diamond Swaps
Manashe Sezanayev pleaded guilty to grand larceny and is expected to receive five years’ probation when he’s sentenced in May.
Manashe Sezanayev of Queens, New York, who was accused of replacing three natural diamonds with lab-grown ones, has pleaded guilty to defrauding two diamond merchants.
New York—A dealer based in New York City’s Diamond District has pleaded guilty to defrauding two other diamond merchants by replacing natural diamonds with lab-grown ones, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced last week.
On Feb. 27, 41-year-old Manashe (Mike) Sezanayev of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count of grand larceny in the second degree.
Sezanayev, the owner of Rachel’s Diamonds on 47th Street in Manhattan, was indicted last July in New York State Supreme Court on two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, which are both felonies, as well as three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a misdemeanor.
His sentencing date is May 5, according to the DA’s office.
He is expected to receive five years of probation and to make restitution in the amount of $200,000, which Manhattan DA Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said has already been paid.
Related stories will be right here … On Feb. 27, 41-year-old Manashe (Mike) Sezanayev of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty in a New York State Supreme Court to one count of grand larceny in the second degree.
Sezanayev, the owner of Rachel’s Diamonds on 47th Street in Manhattan, was indicted last July in New York State Supreme Court on two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, which are both felonies, as well as three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, a misdemeanor.
His sentencing date is May 5, according to the DA’s office.
He is expected to receive five years of probation and to make restitution in the amount of $200,000, which Manhattan DA Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said has already been paid.
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, last February, a diamond merchant brought two natural diamonds to Sezanayev’s office that Sezanayev claimed to be interested in buying, valued at approximately $185,000 and $75,000.
When Sezanayev turned his back to the merchant to weigh the stones, he allegedly swapped them for two lab-grown stones intentionally cut to mimic the natural stones, both fraudulently inscribed with Gemological Institute of America report numbers for natural diamonds.
According to court records, the next month, Sezanayev told another diamond merchant that he had a customer looking to purchase a diamond worth around $200,000.
Sezanayev purchased a lab-grown diamond re-cut to mimic the $200,000 natural diamond he claimed to be interested in, also inscribed with a fraudulent GIA report number.
He brought the lab-grown stone to a meeting with his alleged customer and the merchant, and while evaluating the natural stone, Sezanayev made the swap.
The merchant did not realize his natural diamond had been swapped for a lab-grown diamond until later.
The DA’s office said the $200,000 diamond was returned to the victim.
“Manashe Sezanayev is facing accountability for stealing diamonds from merchants and replacing them with fake stones,” Bragg said.
“We will continue to prosecute those who take advantage of consumers and conduct business deals in a dishonest manner.”
This is the second time Sezanayev has pleaded guilty to a diamond-related crime.
In 2017, he was one of a dozen men charged with perpetrating a series of frauds that ultimately cheated diamond wholesalers out of more than $9 million in goods.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2018 and was sentenced to 366 days behind bars, court records show.
According to the online database for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Sezanayev was released from prison in December 2019.
When Sezanayev turned his back to the merchant to weigh the stones, he allegedly swapped them for two lab-grown stones intentionally cut to mimic the natural stones, both fraudulently inscribed with Gemological Institute of America report numbers for natural diamonds.
According to court records, the next month, Sezanayev told another diamond merchant that he had a customer looking to purchase a diamond worth around $200,000.
Sezanayev purchased a lab-grown diamond re-cut to mimic the $200,000 natural diamond he claimed to be interested in, also inscribed with a fraudulent GIA report number.
He brought the lab-grown stone to a meeting with his alleged customer and the merchant, and while evaluating the natural stone, Sezanayev made the swap.
The merchant did not realize his natural diamond had been swapped for a lab-grown diamond until later.
The DA’s office said the $200,000 diamond was returned to the victim.
“Manashe Sezanayev is facing accountability for stealing diamonds from merchants and replacing them with fake stones,” Bragg said.
“We will continue to prosecute those who take advantage of consumers and conduct business deals in a dishonest manner.”
This is the second time Sezanayev has pleaded guilty to a diamond-related crime.
In 2017, he was one of a dozen men charged with perpetrating a series of frauds that ultimately cheated diamond wholesalers out of more than $9 million in goods.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2018 and was sentenced to 366 days behind bars, court records show.
According to the online database for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Sezanayev was released from prison in December 2019.
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