NY diamond district dealers got swindled big time

[Madam Bijoux]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/30/nyregion/30diamonds.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

[Skippy123]

Quoted from the article "No criminal charges have been filed against Mr. Taub. Prosecutors said that criminal indictments can be hard to obtain in such cases, because the business practices in the wholesale diamond district are informal. When traders are not paid for diamonds, it can be hard to prove that the lack of payment represents a theft, rather than a debt."

Wow, that is crazy Madam B!!!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Business transactions between diamond dealers have always been based on a handshake. This could change the way they do business from now on.

 

[Ellen]

Ouch.

 

[diagem]

Date: 6/30/2007 10:15:52 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux
Business transactions between diamond dealers have always been based on a handshake. This could change the way they do business from now on.

Not likely..., its not the first nor the last scam unfortunately...
Since this business is based on trust! Sealed with a handshake...(and usualy heavy $$$ transactions), naturaly and unfortunately it will allways attract scam-artists.
It did thousands of years ago and it will in the future...

But..., if you add-up the $$$figures of scams and compare to total $$$ this industry produces vs. other industries..., you will see its minimal.

Its a hard and extremely competitive business..., you need to be alert all the time!!! And not avoid "RED" light warnings when they show up!

 

[Kaleigh]

The way business is conducted with a handshake and trust, is so interesting to me. I doubt that will change. I agree with DiaGem, this is a small loss comparatively.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 6/30/2007 10:34:35 AM
Author: DiaGem

Since this business is based on trust! Sealed with a handshake...(and usualy heavy $$$ transactions), naturaly and unfortunately it will allways attract scam-artists.
It did thousands of years ago and it will in the future...

But..., if you add-up the $$$figures of scams and compare to total $$$ this industry produces vs. other industries..., you will see its minimal.

Very true.

Thanks Madam B for posting this. The more exposure the better.

 

[Pandora II]

In 2002, I remember a 36 year old guy who picked up around 48kg of gold jewellery (mainly 18k) from different companies round the town (major italian gold town). He was a freelance salesman whose whole family was in the business and who had been working in the industry for years.

He then got on a plane to Brazil with his wife and son and disappeared. We lost 6.5kg in the scam - the guy was a cousin of my boss.

I was in Antwerp the following week and it was the talk of the diamond district. I was pulled in off the street every few metres as I was one of the few people over there who spoke fluent english.

My main diamond dealer was then involved in something similar with a "fake" robbery a few months later - though as I had picked all our purchases up the week before we didn't lose out. It shook me up though having spent many great evenings with him, his wife and their kids; I would have sworn he was one of the straightest people I knew over there. Trust is such a huge part of the business.

 

[iheartscience]

I read that article...that''s pretty crazy. It sounds like the bad guys were in the business long enough to be trusted by many. I wonder why they decided to skip town with all the diamonds? Maybe they got into financial difficulty or maybe it was even a long term plan. Either way, I hope they get caught!