Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, an Indian jeweler with operations in Mumbai and New Jersey, has found himself in legal trouble in the United States. He was recently arrested and appeared before a federal judge in Newark on February 26, facing charges related to customs duty evasion and operating unlicensed money-transferring businesses.
Referred to as “Monish Doshi Shah,” he has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The indictment alleges that Shah was involved in a scheme spanning from January 2015 to September 2023, aimed at evading duties on jewelry imports from Turkey and India into the US.
These documents shed light on the extent of Shah’s alleged activities, which involved the manipulation of customs duties and the operation of unlicensed money-transferring operations. The case underscores the importance of adhering to legal and regulatory frameworks governing international trade and financial transactions.
The intricate scheme orchestrated by Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah involved a series of steps to evade customs duties on jewelry imports into the US. Goods originating from Turkey or India, which would typically incur a 5.5 percent duty if directly shipped to the US, were rerouted to one of Shah’s companies in South Korea.
Once in South Korea, Shah’s associates would alter the labels on the jewelry to falsely indicate their origin as South Korea before shipping them to Shah or his customers in the US. This deceptive practice enabled them to circumvent the duty requirements imposed on imports.
In addition to this duty evasion scheme, Shah allegedly operated multiple jewelry companies in New York City’s Diamond District from July 2020 to November 2021. Among these entities were MKore LLC, MKore USA Inc., and Vruman Corp. These companies were allegedly used by Shah to facilitate illegal financial transactions, including the conversion of cash to checks or wire transfers.
The prosecution alleges that Shah and his associates conducted sizable money transfers, sometimes exceeding a million dollars in a single day, while charging fees for their illicit services. Importantly, none of Shah’s companies, nor those of his co-conspirators, were registered as money-transmitting businesses with the relevant authorities, such as New York, New Jersey, or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Following his arrest, Shah was released on a $100,000 bond under the conditions of home detention and location monitoring. These developments underscore the severity of the charges against Shah and the alleged extent of his illicit activities in both customs duty evasion and unlicensed money-transmitting operations.
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