Taub arrested in million-dollar bust-out scheme
April 22, 2008
By Michelle Graff
New York—A diamond dealer who riled 47th Street when he took millions of goods on memo and then disappeared was indicted and arrested today, the New York County district attorney's office announced.
A grand jury indicted 29-year-old Alfred Taub—aka
Avi Taub of A. Taub Diamonds—on charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, insurance fraud and falsely reporting an incident.
Taub's arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
According to the New York district attorney's office, Taub stole more than $3 million in diamonds from more than 45 diamond dealers over a two-month period beginning in spring 2007.
Taub filed a complaint with police on June 13, 2007, claiming he was robbed of more than $1 million in diamonds on Canal Street in New York City's Chinatown section.
He also filed an insurance claim on the alleged theft, according to the district attorney's office.
Detectives previously had searched Taub's parent's house, where they found a total of eight diamonds and more than $12,000 in cash. Two of those diamonds Taub claimed were stolen and had been obtained on memo.
According to the district attorney's office, when police entered the house, Taub hid in a bedroom closet.
Cindy Molloy, an attorney with the Manhattan law firm of Tratner Molloy and Goodstein who represents diamond dealers in the case, told
National Jeweler, "The victims are grateful to law enforcement for taking action to protect this community from the recent epidemic of theft on 47th Street."
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